Drivers trying to figure out sticky Bristol surface
BRISTOL, TENN. >> The moment practice ended at Bristol Motor Speedway, Kurt Busch climbed the steep banking of the concrete bullring. He checked the track temperature in several spots, then used his shoes to test the grip of the surface as he scuffed his way back down.
There’s a sticky situation heading into Sunday’s race in Thunder Valley, and it’s causing fits for the drivers.
“It’s tough to trust, it’s tough to predict,” said Busch, a five-time Bristol winner.
Bristol officials applied a VHT resin to the track surface that is intended to enhance grip. The TrackBite is much wider than it was last summer, when Bristol first tried it in August in an effort to make a stronger second lane. The top lane for years had been the preferred line, but the wider swath of VHT seems to have made the bottom of the track the place to be as drivers used limited practice time to prepare for Sunday.
Intermittent rain at Bristol has wiped out a ton of the notes drivers have gathered about the surface because every time they think they’ve figured out a lane, the showers wash off any tire rubber that’s been accumulated. The Xfinity Series race was stopped for rain Saturday, hours after the Cup drivers had completed their final practice.
“The surface was real slick and then it was really grippy and then it started to slicken back up,” Brad Keselowski said. “It’s going to be an evolving surface race, so that just means it’s going to be tough. We’re supposed to be the best, so we’ll have to figure it out.
Power claims fourth pole at Barber Motorsports Park
BIRMINGHAM, ALA. >> Will Power is the front-runner at Barber Motorsports Park once again, and his teammates are following right behind.
Power claimed the pole for the fourth time at the Indy Grand Prix of Alabama Saturday in a qualifying session dominated by Team Penske. Power’s fast lap of 1:06.9614 gave him 46 career starts up front and continued his success at Barber Motorsports Park.
Teammates Helio Castroneves and defending champion Simon Pagenaud completed a sweep of the top three spots to start Sunday’s race.
“It’s phenomenal for the race team, 1-2-3,” said Pagenaud, who won the series championship in 2016. “They did a fantastic job preparing these cars. This is a really good track for us in general.”
That might be understating the matter.
Current Penske drivers have won five of the seven IndyCar races at the 17turn, 2.3-mile road course. They’ve claimed the pole seven times in eight years.
Power won in 2011 and 2012, Castroneves in 2010 and first-year Penske driver Josef Newgarden two years ago. Newgarden qualified seventh with his new team.