At the New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Christopher Bell was virtually unbeatable. Chase Briscoe and Josh Berry, his Stewart-Haas Racing teammates, followed him on the course. Kyle Larson, who finished fourth, was a strong contender for a while until losing out. The unpredictable conditions did not help the Hendrick Motorsports driver’s case. Near the end of the third stage, the heavens opened, forcing a temporary halt. Unlike at the Coca-Cola 600, authorities were able to get this race started after the shower.
However, the race quickly turned into a lottery, with numerous spins, accidents, and cautions. To summarize, this race effectively tested everyone’s patience. This also includes the drivers’ patience and fortitude, as Kyle Larson expressed concern over the tire calls.
How did Kyle Larson survive that shady stint?
He was glad he could put on a new set of tires. Larson found himself in a difficult situation as the race progressed, but the final ten laps proved to be his saving grace. He said to Bob Pockrass, “Honestly, it didn’t matter. Simply being able to put on tires is certainly beneficial. I believe the last little 10-lap segment got broken, which improved things. It would have been tough to complete 10 straight laps on the dried surface. Maybe that might have resulted in a better ending, who knows. This track was clearly suitable for slicks.” The scenario was complicated since NASCAR required the drivers to be on wet tires.
However, the track was drying, but regulators did not approve slick ties. Of course, wet tires on a dry track are not a good idea, since traction was quickly lost, forcing drivers to tiptoe. The quantity of cautions throughout the text lent credence to this view. The race even went into overtime before ultimately ending. Furthermore, numerous drivers wrecked, including Kyle Busch and Corey LaJoie on multiple occasions, Bubba Wallace, Noah Gragson, and many others.
The Hendrick Motorsports driver referenced the Coca-Cola 600 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. Around that time, he was trying a historic Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 double. However, the weather had other plans, and despite his arrival in Charlotte, the event was cancelled due to inclement weather. This time, he was relieved that lightning did not strike twice. He answered, “Yeah, for sure; I’m quite pleased with that. It was fantastic; I believe I moved forward; obviously, our cars run well in damp conditions; I wish we could spend more time drying pit road. “That way, we could have a strategy.”
“Mandate us to put on the dampers or wet tires, and then it’s up to us.” I believe that if they could spend more time drying pit road rather than the track, it would result in a far more entertaining strategy-style race. More comers and goers, people making risky moves with slicks on wet terrain, attempting to go past others. Hopefully, they are getting closer to it. We have enough data points now to show that the track dries fairly quickly when you get out there.”
Kyle Larson thinks NASCAR might have handled the weather circumstances differently. He believes it would have helped with strategy and made the race more intriguing. He lamented that they did not take a chance with the slick tires, but hoped that the sport would learn something from this race weekend.
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