The quality of racing at Bristol Motor Speedway and in the Cup Series recently on short tracks was a topic on the latest episode of the “Hauler Talk” podcast.
After leading 462 of 500 laps in a victory last September, Kyle Larson led 411 laps in his April 13 victory at Bristol. NASCAR managing director of communications Mike Forde said chief racing development officer John Probst had commissioned the engineers in the competition department to evaluate possible short-track tweaks after Larson’s most recent victory.
“Nothing concrete or specific to talk about just yet, but (Probst) said look at every lever that you could possibly pull and pull them,” Forde said. “To be clear, ‘NASCAR is aware and is working on it’ is really the message to be delivered out of that one race, which was not a great watch. … When you have (the winner) lead 411 laps, that is something to talk about.”
Forde said NASCAR has no aerodynamic or tire tests planned yet for short tracks. Two years ago in a Richmond Raceway test, NASCAR experimented with removing the diffuser on the Next Gen car.
“They didn’t really change much from an aerodynamic perspective, but also it was a test,” Forde said. “So who knows how hard those (test drivers) were going. They don’t want to wreck their test car. There’s nothing on the line. But we test for a reason to get those data points, and the data points for removing the diffuser really weren’t that super promising. So there’s work being done, and hopefully there will be more to come.”
The lack of tire wear emerged as a concern at Bristol. NASCAR and Goodyear officials meet every Tuesday morning, and Forde said “nothing specific came out of that meeting” after Bristol. Goodyear held a short-track tire test at Bristol last year after the March 17, 2024 race produced heavy falloff that necessitated a much shorter pit window.
“We made some tweaks and then had a Kyle Larson-dominant race in the fall,” Forde said. “Goodyear is kind of figuring out their plans for what we need to do.”
Other topics covered during the 11th episode of “Hauler Talk,” which explores competition issues in NASCAR:
— The disqualification of Jesse Love’s Xfinity Series victory at Rockingham Speedway and why NASCAR decided six years ago to change a longstanding policy and begin stripping victories with inspections immediately after the race.
— Explaining the disqualification for Justin Bonsignore for missing four lug nuts after crashing during the Xfinity race.
— Exploring the new batch of NASCAR Hall of Fame nominees eligible for election in the Class of 2026.
— The unveiling of a new format for the All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway that will feature the debut of “promoter’s cautions.”
Click on the embed above to listen or search for “Hauler Talk” wherever you download podcasts to hear it on your phone, tablet or mobile device.
Nate Ryan has written about NASCAR since 1996 while working at the San Bernardino Sun, Richmond Times-Dispatch, USA TODAY and for the past 10 years at NBC Sports Digital. He is a contributor to the new “Hauler Talk” show on the NASCAR Podcast Network. He also has covered various other motorsports, including the IndyCar and IMSA series.