The new 750-horsepower NASCAR Cup Series short track package will make its Bristol Motor Speedway debut on Sunday. Just how much will the additional horsepower affect the racing at Bristol?
Joey Logano addressed the topic while speaking Thursday with Jeff Gluck of The Athletic. According to Logano, don’t expect to see something out of this world.
“It will some, I’m not sure it’s gonna be huge,” Logano said on the Gluckcast.
On top of the 750-horsepower package, Goodyear has developed what they believe to be a softer tire for the spring race at Bristol. The tire was developed from the November test at the 0.533-mile oval, which Bubba Wallace, Alex Bowman, and Ryan Preece took part in.
“The objective at our Bristol tire test in November was to develop a setup that is less temperature dependent at laying rubber down,” said Justin Fantozzi, Goodyear director of racing, via SpeedwayMedia.com. “We heard loudly from the teams about variations in weather between practice and race conditions, and the need for a tire solution to address this.
“The track took rubber in November under rather cold temperatures, and again at the March OEM Wheel Force test. Our development team did a great job, and we are very pleased to be heading into the weekend with this new package.”
NASCAR hopeful for better on-track product at Bristol
NASCAR is hoping that the combination of more horsepower and softer tires will enhance the on-track product at Bristol. Logano is hopeful that some different line options previously unavailable in the Next Gen car will come back into play.
“It’s possible it changes the way you drive the car a little bit at the line, especially if you move up top, it’s possible that it brings some different line options back into play that haven’t been available for the Next Gen car,” Logano said. “I’m hoping that’s the case, personally, because I think it promotes a little better racing.
“So, hopefully that’s the case, but gosh, it’s hard to say, right? I don’t think the horsepower would be massive, but it will affect us some.”