Additional resin added to lower groove at Bristol

BRISTOL, Tenn. — NASCAR reversed course and added more resin to the lower groove at Thunder Valley.

Eighteen inches of VHT was laid down on the bottom lane in through turns 1 and 2 and turns 3 and 4 during the overnight hours in preparation of tonight’s Sprint Cup Series Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

The substance is meant to give cars more grip so as to make the bottom lane equal to or better than the top lane that has been the preferred groove around Bristol the last four years.

“It was a collaboration between the track, (NASCAR) and the industry,” said Kurt Culbert, NASCAR spokesperson. “(The resin) seemed to work really well.”

It was announced two weeks ago that Bristol has laid down the VHT in advance of the triple-header weekend. Nobody wanted to touch the bottom during the first Camping World Truck Series practice of the weekend after overnight rain. But the trucks started running the bottom in final practice and were running lap times far faster on the bottom than on the top. The bottom continued to dominate through the UNOH 200, although drivers like William Byron tried to run the high line late in the race, and it appeared that the resin had brought back the Bristol of “old.”

By the time the Sprint Cup cars hit the track, more and more drivers were moving up the track to rubber in the top groove. The gap in speed from the top to the bottom was closing, but the bottom was still the quickest way around.

Just after the first caution flew in the XFINITY Series Food City 300, the top lane prevailed as the fastest way around the track.

Brad Keselowski said after the XFINITY race he wanted Bristol to work on the bottom groove before the Cup race.

“The whole point was to work on the bottom groove and make it so this isn’t a track you run up on top,” Keselowski said. “There was a lot of work to make that happen and it didn’t stick with running four series here over the weekend. It’s just a question on NASCAR, whether they want to let the track work on it and get it back.”

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SpeedwayMedia.com

Tucker White
Tucker White
I've followed NASCAR for well over 20 years of my life, both as a fan and now as a member of the media. As of 2024, I'm on my ninth season as a traveling NASCAR beat writer. For all its flaws and dumb moments, NASCAR at its best produces some of the best action you'll ever see in the sport of auto racing. Case in point: Kyle Larson's threading the needle pass at Darlington Raceway on May 9, 2021. On used-up tires, racing on a worn surface and an aero package that put his car on the razor's edge of control, Larson demonstrated why he's a generational talent. Those are the stories I want to capture and break down. In addition to NASCAR, I also follow IndyCar and Formula 1. As a native of Knoxville, Tennessee, and a graduate of the University of Tennessee, I'm a diehard Tennessee Volunteers fan (especially in regards to Tennessee football). If covering NASCAR doesn't kill me, down the road, watching Tennessee football will. I'm also a diehard fan of the Atlanta Braves, and I lived long enough to see them win a World Series for the first time since 1995 (when I was just a year old). I've also sworn my fan allegiance to the Nashville Predators, though that's not paid out as much as the Braves. Furthermore, as a massive sports dork, I follow the NFL on a weekly basis. Though it's more out of an obligation than genuine passion (for sports dorks, following the NFL is basically an unwritten rule). Outside of sports, I'm a major cinema buff and a weeb. My favorite film is "Blazing Saddles" and my favorite anime is "Black Lagoon."

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