Is “old” Bristol Motor Speedway back?
Many drivers made it look that way last weekend as the trademark bump-and-run maneuver was executed all over the half-mile track, thanks in part to the PJ1 substance applied to the bottom lane in both turns.
The most memorable example came when Kyle Busch applied it to Kyle Larson to take the lead with six laps to go and went on to win.
On NASCAR America, Steve Letarte and Jeff Burton discussed their takeaways from the Food City 500, including the return of the bump-and-run.
“What I like about what I saw all weekend was that the bottom (lane) was better,” Burton said. “But you could still use the middle. I like the bottom being the best because I think it produces the best racing to watch. I know as a driver when the top became the best, it got easier for me. You weren’t loaded as much from the G-force stand point, the feeling of speed wasn’t there. I like the fact that it’s back on the bottom.”
Letarte said from talking with crew chiefs that there is now a “comfort” with the traction compound.
“Everybody seemed pretty calm, ‘Look, it’s going to stay down, we know what the track’s going to do,’” Letarte said. “I think they finally got a little bit of comfort of how to treat the track and the competitors have some comfort in how it’s going to affect it.”
Watch the above video for more on the Food City 500.