Drivers prep for return to Bristol's bump-and-run
BRISTOL, Tenn. – Let’s start by acknowledging it’s no sure thing Saturday night’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway will be a one-groove affair.
Last week, track officials applied a sticky compound called VHT on the lower lane of the track to increase grip, essentially flipping the preferred line from the top to the bottom of the half-mile oval.
That’s important because the “old” Bristol – the pre-2007 version of the track, during its prime years of popularity and attendance – featured racing on the low line. And if that remains the case Saturday night, it could bring back the familiar bump-and-run where drivers knock or nudge others out of the way to make a pass.
“If that’s the way it goes, I think we should just fully expect it and be ready and try not to let our feelings get hurt, because it’s gonna be a tough race if it’s just on the bottom like that,” Pocono Raceway winner Chris Buescher said Friday.
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The problem is, no one is quite sure how the racing will unfold. With cars on the track for practice and races, the VHT (or “the stuff,” as Joey Logano called it) has started to wear off. No one is sure at what rate the stuff is losing its effect, nor is there a clear answer as to whether or not officials will add more before the Sprint Cup Series race Saturday night.
“I don’t know what’s going on,” Logano said with a laugh. “There are a lot of unknowns. Nobody knows what’s going on. Everybody you talk to has a different story.”
Rookie Chase Elliott said it’s obvious the bottom has grip, but that should eventually go away as drivers run the top line throughout the weekend. It could even change while Saturday night’s race is in progress.
“I think the groove will keep working its way up,” Elliott said. “Eventually, the top lane will probably prevail.”
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That would be OK with drivers like Kyle Larson, a high-line devotee who was irritated when Bristol made the change this week. Larson said he planned to do everything he could to make the top lane work as well or better than the bottom.
But if the lower lane remains faster for some reason, Larson said, then drivers shouldn’t be surprised if others get rough.
“I hope it’s going to be OK, because the guys who wanted it to be on the bottom are the first to get mad when they get hit,” Larson said with a smirk. “Hopefully they can accept it more when they get the bumper used on them.”
Drivers don’t know what kind of race to expect. Will the top line make Bristol a relatively tame affair, as it's been in recent years? Will two even lines make for a fun race filled with side-by-side battles? Or will the bottom recreate the old Bristol madness?
If it's the latter, that could be quiet interesting to watch.
Will high grip in low lane give Bristol missing drama?
“If (contact) is the only way to pass, it’s the only way to pass,” Trevor Bayne said. “Obviously, there’s a difference between a bump-and-run and crashing somebody. That’s the line you’ve got to walk.
“I’m hopeful there are gonna be a couple lanes and you’ll be able to adapt and move around. But if not, it’s gonna be the Bristol of old and drivers are just gonna have to check their feelings at the start/finish line when we go by for the first time.”
Six-time Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson said feelings about the bump-and-run are complex: It’s never annoying when you’re doing the bumping, he said, but it’s always annoying when you’re the one getting bumped.
Plus, there’s a difference based on the level of contact.
“Getting moved is one thing; getting dumped is another,” Johnson said. “This car, the way the bumpers match up, it’s much easier to have casual contact and not crash a guy. There definitely could be some bumping and banging, but you’ve got to go to some great lengths to dump somebody. And if that happens, I think the person is going to be upset, period.”
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