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Kentucky, New Hampshire and Pocono using traction compound for races

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Aric Almirola explains to the NASCAR America crew why Turn 3 at Kentucky Speedway is so difficult for so many drivers.

After criticism of the racing in its June Cup event, Pocono Raceway announced Wednesday that it will add the PJ1 traction compound to areas of all three of its turns for NASCAR’s return trip to the track July 27-28.

The move means the next three tracks the Cup Series visits - Kentucky Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET Saturday on NBCSN), New Hampshire Motor Speedway (July 21) and Pocono - will treat their racing surfaces with the traction compound.

At Pocono, PJ1 will be used in the third lane in Turn 1, the second lane in Turn 2 and the third lane in Turn 3. The Tire Dragon will be used in the application process.

The move comes after criticism over the ability to pass with the new rules package after the June 1 Cup race.

“I was along lines with everybody else, it could have been better,” Pocono Raceway CEO Nick Igdalsky told NBC Sports. “So that’s why we’re doing it. If I thought it was the best race Pocono has to offer, we wouldn’t be putting anything on track. But obviously we have some room for improvement with the current package.”

Igdalsky said the track had contemplated applying the traction agent “for a couple of years.”

“With the packages, every time they come to June race at Pocono it seems like the past couple of years there was a new nuance to it, aero packages, shifting packages, the new package and so on and so forth,” Igdalsky said. “It seemed like every June it was, ‘Hey, let’s see what happens and if we need a little something we can always add it in July.’

“I think we got to the point where coming out of the June race and knowing NASCAR was going to hold to this package for the rest of this season, we knew we had a few things at our disposal. ... So we have this at our disposal to improve competition if need be.”

He added that “we would have left something on the table if we didn’t try this.”

Igdalsky explained the reasoning behind the specific location of the application.

“It was just to get some separation between the two racing lanes,” Igdalsky said. “That would create less disturbance in the air and create more stable racing, more stable cars ... Lane 1 would be the ideal racing line. ... Lane 2 would be one lane up. Lane 3 would be approximately an 8-foot separation from the inside line. What that does is it just creates a layer of cleaner air where they can have maximum grip” and leads to a “drag race down the straightaway.”

PJ1 wil be applied to Lane 2 in Turn 2 because that turn is narrower than the others.

“We’re kind of forced to put it on the second groove in that corner,” Igdalsky said.

“We are constantly looking at ways to improve racing across all tracks and series,” said Scott Miller, NASCAR’s senior vice president of competition in a press release. “Nick Igdalsky at Pocono Raceway shares the same goal – to give our fans the best experience and racing possible. After conversations with our drivers, teams, and Goodyear, we felt that the application of PJ1 in all three corners at Pocono would help put on the best race for our fans.”

Denny Hamlin released a statement supporting the decision.

“I’ve been an advocate for using traction compound at Pocono for a while now,” Hamlin said. “It gives us more lane options as drivers, and that’s what this current aero package needs. I think this will help put on a better show for the fans.”

Turn 1

Alex Bowman believes the compound’s placement in Turn 1 will have a distinct impact on restarts.

“Turn 1 is obviously the widest racing groove of the three corners there anyway,” Bowman said in a Wednesday teleconference. “If it gives us another groove there it’s going to be a lot to work with. I think that will definitely amp it up a little bit. You might not see the need to be five and six-wide because you’ll have more opportunity to pass in the corners. But at the same time, the guy that’s on the top of three and four-wide isn’t going to be in trouble like he was previously. He’s going to be able to probably run the middle or the top of the racing groove and I think that’s going to be really good.”

Kentucky Speedway, where NASCAR visits this weekend, applied PJ1 and the Tire Dragon in Turns 1 and 2 and Turn 3 and 4. In Turns 1 and 2 it was applied in every lane except the bottom groove and goes all the way up to the wall.

In Turn 3 and 4, the substance was applied only in the middle groove.

At New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the track will repeat what it did in 2018 with the PJ1.

The PJ1 will be added to the first (lowest lane) and third (just outside the main lane) grooves in all four turns on Thursday night and again on Saturday and Sunday morning of race weekend.

Each groove of PJ1 will be 12 feet wide with a 12 foot gap between them.

Turn 3