{"id":1516208,"date":"2022-06-21T17:42:40","date_gmt":"2022-06-21T21:42:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/?p=1516208"},"modified":"2022-06-21T17:42:42","modified_gmt":"2022-06-21T21:42:42","slug":"3-nascar-drivers-testing-tires-to-see-whether-short-track-racing-is-dead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/3-nascar-drivers-testing-tires-to-see-whether-short-track-racing-is-dead\/","title":{"rendered":"3 NASCAR Drivers Are Testing Tires to See Whether Short-Track Racing Is Dead in 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Not everyone in the NASCAR Cup Series<\/a> got a full extra week of vacation time after Sonoma. NASCAR has enlisted Kyle Busch<\/a> and a couple of other drivers to participate in a test Tuesday and Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It will either be a step toward making short-track racing bearable to watch again or confirmation that fans can blow off Richmond, Martinsville, and Bristol later this year with no fear of missing something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NASCAR\u2019s Next Gen cars have disappointed on short tracks<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Tire
Tire inflation tool with single-hub tire on the Kyle Larson No. 5 Chevrolet on pit road prior to the DuraMAX Drydene 400 NASCAR Cup Series race on May 1, 2022, at Dover Motor Speedway. | Gregory Fisher\/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

With a few exceptions, the first-year Next Gen car has performed well on NASCAR Cup Series ovals that are a mile or longer. Multiple factors go into setting cars up for a race, including the length of the track, the age and composition of the surface, and the banking of both the corners and the straightaways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Invariably, how the tires handle those variables as well as the weather go a long way toward determining whether there is quality racing. More so than anything else, fans measure that by drivers\u2019 ability to execute passes. And that\u2019s where the races at Richmond and Martinsville, won by Denny Hamlin and William Byron, respectively, came up short.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fans noticed the drivers struggling in those races. Weekly polling on Twitter<\/a> by Jeff Gluck of The Athletic gave Martinsville one of the lowest scores ever. Richmond\u2019s score was considerably better but still among the lowest this season. Bristol, another short track, also fared poorly, but that race was the now-annual dirt track event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All three tracks will be hosting races again in the second half of the season. With two of them playoff races, the stakes are high this week as Goodyear enlists NASCAR drivers to do testing at Martinsville that hopefully improves the racing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NASCAR is trying to avoid a replay of the April fiasco at Martinsville<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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From what I gather, tire test at Martinsville with Reddick, KyBusch & Cindric today\/Wed (closed to public\/media) will start with the dirt track underbody (plastic underbody and no rear diffuser extensions) and work from there. ... Organization test at Martinsville in August. https:\/\/t.co\/seGZpLmWGy<\/a><\/p>— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) June 21, 2022<\/a><\/blockquote>