The NASCAR Cup Series championship hopes of six drivers comes down to what happens Sunday afternoon at Martinsville Speedway.
Of course, how that shakes out is yet to be seen. Itโs not just the results that are unknown, however. Cup Series teams will be working with a new tire that is designed to produce more grip and wear, while also laying rubber on the racetrack.
The right-side tread compound for this weekend is the same one that was run at North Wilkesboro Speedway in May and the second Richmond Raceway race. In those events, it was deemed the option tire. The left-side tire is also different from what was run in the spring Martinsville race as it features a compound change.
โI would say it is slightly more difficult,โ Alan Gustafson (main image) of Chase Elliottโs No. 9 team said of going into a high-stakes weekend with an unknown tire. โI donโt feel like itโs a huge significant thing. Itโs not something that I feel like is unfair or unreasonable. But yeah, itโs a little different.
โMy stance on this is always (that) the rules should start at the beginning of the year and end at the end of the year. I donโt think you should change the rules. I donโt think you should change the configuration of the car. I donโt think you should change the tires.โ
Gustafson laughed while offering his take because he understands the entertainment aspect of the sport. And he knows his view is likely amongst the minority when it comes to doing things during the season that are aimed toward improving racing product.
โBut with that being said, I think in that context,โ Gustafson continued, โIโd think Iโd rather not have that (unknown).โ
Jonathan Hassler, the crew chief for the reigning series champions from Team Penske with Ryan Blaney, was not as fazed. Hassler acknowledged the softer tire means there are questions, but if a team has a sound process for approaching each weekend, it will work itself out.
Hassler (above, with Blaney) doesn’t think the change in tire presents much of a curveball. Nigel Kinrade/Motorsport Images
Cup Series teams will have an extended practice session Saturday. All drivers will have the chance to get on track โ together instead of in groups โ for 45 minutes.
โMan, thereโs been a lot of that (unknown) in the playoffs between the tracks we pick and the Watkins Glen tire and now this tire,โ Chris Gabehart, Denny Hamlinโs crew chief, said. โIt adds another element for sure because with it, you look at the last several Martinsville races and you know kind of how theyโre going to play out. Theyโre going to be about staying out and minimal time on pit road and keeping track position.
โBut weโve certainly seen Martinsville of the old where handling tire management matters a lot, and if the caution comes out just 15 laps into a run, you come back and get more tires. So, we all know what Martinsville is capable of but we know what itโs been lately. Will this tire make the difference and we have to adjust? Weโll see but itโs definitely an added element.โ
Martinsville Speedway produced 13 lead changes earlier this year. There were 12 lead changes in last fallโs event and 10 in the spring.
Since the introduction of Next Gen in 2022, the racing at Martinsville has been heavily criticized. William Byron won the first Next Gen race at the track in 2022 with five lead changes and 1,233 green flag passes. Christopher Bell won the fall even that season with eight lead changes and 674 green flag passes.
Adam Stevens, Bellโs crew chief, takes comfort in no-one knowing what is going to happen when drivers get on track Saturday. Itโs the same for all teams on a weekend with so much at stake.
โIt is strange that being the final cutoff race that we have a lot of newness here and we just donโt know how itโs going to behave,โ Stevens said. โWe donโt know how much degradation weโre going to have. We donโt know if itโs going to wear to the cords. Thereโs a lot of questions to answer before this race gets started – some stuff that makes the crew chiefs lose a little sleep.โ
Bell is in the best position of the six drivers looking for a spot in the championship race. He sits 29 points above the cutline.
The first driver below the cutline is Kyle Larson. The tire is something that Cliff Daniels, Larsonโs crew chief, is not going to overthink. Daniels believes there have been enough races with the car using different aero packages and tire options that enough has been seen by teams to know what to expect.
โYes, there could be some nuance to it, Iโm not saying that there wonโt be, and weโre hopeful for a bit more falloff and more opportunity for guys to stay out or take four, whatever the case may be,โ Daniels said. โI just donโt know that itโs going to be as different in race time as what it may be on paper. So, for us, weโre going to have to learn throughout the weekend.
โI think the way cars start at the beginning of practice is going to be a lot different at the end of practice by the time the track does rubber in and you have all the cars out there at one time when normally we have the group practices. โฆ Thatโs going to get the track to condition itself in a lot quicker. So, hopefully, our read on that will paint a better picture for the race.โ
William Byron holds down the final transfer spot as the weekend begins. Byron is one of Larsonโs teammates and the most recent winner at Martinsville Speedway.
โItโs tough,โ Rudy Fugle, Byronโs crew chief, said of the tire. โI try to focus on what we do know and try to have what those couple scenarios are if it throws us for a loop what weโre going to do. But if you think about all the scenarios, itโs kind of daunting.
โSo, we really try to keep it simple and then just in the background try to have some different plays.โ
