BRISTOL, Tenn. — The months and years may change, but the questions about tires at Bristol Motor Speedway remain.
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Will tire wear be a factor on Sunday afternoon at the Tennessee short track (3 p.m. ET on FS1)? What will be the best approach to maximizing the day and contending for the win?
"Just do not get your left side (tires) off the yellow line, and you won't probably get passed," Chase Briscoe said after Saturday's practice session. "That's probably the biggest thing."
The last four Cup Series races at Bristol have featured two different trends. Two races have featured an unexpected amount of tire wear, to the point that drivers stressed about going 20-30 laps. The other two races had minimal tire wear as Kyle Larson dominated.
Goodyear made a change to the tire compound in an effort to minimize the tire wear swings that could occur based on the ambient temperature. The company held a tire test over the winter with Alex Bowman, Ryan Preece, and Bubba Wallace.
#NASCAR - Zane Smith was part of Group 1 practice at Bristol. He learned some things, but there are still so many unknowns ahead of tomorrow's Cup Series race.
He explains: pic.twitter.com/VUgkcAipeO— John Newby (@JohnNewby_) April 11, 2026
This test provided a little bit of data to the teams, but as Wallace joked, "We were 30 degrees (in November) and it's damn near 80 today."
The teams have some data available after this test happened, but they still can't agree on how the race will play out.
Briscoe expects a race where one driver dominates, especially if NASCAR sprays the PJ1 traction compound on the bottom groove as they have the last two days.
AJ Allmendinger, for comparison, is not yet ready to make a prediction. He's seen the situation drastically change between practice and the race.
"Honestly, the tires felt okay, like, but I mean, every practice we've had here, we think we got one thing, and then I'm not sure (laughs)," Allmendinger said. "It's like they didn't feel like they're falling off a lot. They fell off a little bit.
"But, yeah, I didn't think it was too bad. I can't tell if it's, I guess, maybe lack of downforce. The car's definitely sliding a lot like trying to get that balance from little too tight to all of a sudden gets back to the free side."
Ryan Blaney, the man who starts from the pole, sees multiple ways how the race could unfold. The optimist in him believes the track will widen in the opening stage. He believes drivers will start moving up the track before they reach the halfway point of the race, especially if the sun continues to beat down on the short track.
That being said, Blaney also believes the cars will be a handful. He expects some handling issues as drivers adjust to changes in horsepower and downforce, which could lead to some crashes during the race.
Do these factors create some unknowns for Blaney and his fellow drivers? The answer is a resounding yes, but he's perfectly fine with that. He'd rather have uncertainty than another repetitive race.
"I enjoy it like when we have new rules like we had today at this track for the first time," Blaney said. "I always look forward to it. I'm a pretty open-minded person, so with stuff I try to just have my little idea of what I think it's going to do, but then I just see what it's like in practice and try to adjust my style towards that.
"I try not to get too locked in my ways when there are new things like this. I feel like you have to be open-minded, so that stuff is fun to me. Repetitiveness, I think, can sometimes get boring, so when you have these new things like that and an unpredictability with the package and stuff like that, you don't know what to expect, that stuff is fun."
