Drivers are 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 today’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 today.

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.

“It’s changing faster than I can keep up with it. This will be a weekend full of things we’ve never Wade Payne /

Kyle Larson walks through the pit area after the first practice for a NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series race.

TODAY’S LINEUP

NASCAR-Monster Energy-Ford

EcoBoost 400 At Bristol Motor Speedway

Bristol, Tenn. Lap length: 0.53 miles (Car number in parentheses) 1. (42) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, Charter Team - 2017 Owner Point 1st. 2. (24) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, Charter Team - 2017 Owner Point 2nd. 3. (78) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, Charter Team - 2017 Owner Point 3rd. 4. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford, Charter

Team - 2017 Owner Point 4th. 5. (22) Joey Logano, Ford, Charter

Team - 2017 Owner Point 5th. 6. (21) Ryan Blaney, Ford, Charter

Team - 2017 Owner Point 6th. 7. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota, Charter

Team - 2017 Owner Point 7th. 8. (1) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet,

Charter Team - 2017 Owner Point 8th. 9. (14) Clint Bowyer, Ford, Charter

Team - 2017 Owner Point 9th. 10. (4) Kevin Harvick, Ford, Charter

Team - 2017 Owner Point 10th. 11. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, Charter Team - 2017 Owner Point 11th. 12. (6) Trevor Bayne, Ford, Charter

Team - 2017 Owner Point 12th. 13. (31) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, Charter Team - 2017 Owner Point 13th. 14. (77) Erik Jones, Toyota, Charter

Team - 2017 Owner Point 14th. 15. (41) Kurt Busch, Ford, Charter

Team - 2017 Owner Point 15th. 16. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, Charter Team - 2017 Owner Point 16th. 17. (5) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, Charter Team - 2017 Owner Point 17th. 18. (43) Aric Almirola, Ford, Charter

Team - 2017 Owner Point 18th. 19. (17) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, Charter Team - 2017 Owner Point 19th.

seen before, which usually means the field is privy to making a lot of The Associated Press 20. (88) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, Charter Team - 2017 Owner Point 20th. 21. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, Charter Team - 2017 Owner Point 21st. 22. (20) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, Charter Team - 2017 Owner Point 22nd. 23. (19) Daniel Suarez, Toyota, Charter Team - 2017 Owner Point 23rd. 24. (13) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, Charter

Team - 2017 Owner Point 24th. 25. (47) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, Charter Team - 2017 Owner Point 25th. 26. (27) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, Charter Team - 2017 Owner Point 26th. 27. (37) Chris Buescher, Chevrolet, Charter Team - 2017 Owner Point 27th. 28. (95) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, Charter Team - 2017 Owner Point 28th. 29. (10) Danica Patrick, Ford, Charter

Team - 2017 Owner Point 29th. 30. (34) Landon Cassill, Ford, Charter

Team - 2017 Owner Point 30th. 31. (72) Cole Whitt, Chevrolet, Charter

Team - 2017 Owner Point 31st. 32. (32) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford, Charter Team - 2017 Owner Point 32nd. 33. (38) David Ragan, Ford, Charter

Team - 2017 Owner Point 33rd. 34. (15) Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet, Charter Team - 2017 Owner Point 34th. 35. (83) Corey LaJoie, Toyota, Open

Team - 2017 Owner Point 35th. 36. (23) Gray Gaulding, Toyota, Charter Team - 2017 Owner Point 36th. 37. (33) Jeffrey Earnhardt, Chevrolet, Charter Team - 2017 Owner Point 39th. 38. (51) Timmy Hill, Chevrolet, Open

Team - 2017 Owner Point 40th. 39. (55) Derrike Cope, Toyota, Open

Team - 2017 Owner Point 41st.

mistakes, a lot of action, a lot of wrecks and that’s not always a bad thing.”