Getty Images

BRISTOL, TENNESSEE – SEPTEMBER 13: A detail view of the worn tires of Chris Buescher, driver of the #17 Body Guard Ford, during the NASCAR Cup Series Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on September 13, 2025 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

Tire wear issues have developed within 50 laps of the NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Just 27 circuits into the 500-lap event, drivers were bringing their cars to pit road to change tires.

The first two were Pole Sitter A.J. Allmendinger, who was followed by Playoff Contender Austin Dillon. When the right-side tires were taken off the No. 16 Chevrolet of Allmendinger and the No. 3 Chevrolet of Dillon, there was visible cording of the front and rear right-side tires.

By lap 40, almost every car in the race had to pit to change tires and all were showing the same cording issues. This race is the final event in the Round of 16 for Playoff eligible drivers, with four being eliminated as the Round of 12 continue on for a championship.

NASCAR Announced New Tire Tuesday

For the first time in the past four Bristol races, NASCAR and Goodyear announced the teams would be racing on a different tire than before. They were told of the new tire on Tuesday before the race. 

Mark Keto, Goodyear Senior Project Manager for NASCAR, said that with cars putting down more rubber in warmer conditions on the high-banked concrete surface, a pivot toward more tread wear was the preference.

“The big thing is the track temperature difference between the spring races and the fall race,” said Mark Keto, Goodyear Sr. Project Manager for NASCAR. “We know concrete, particularly Bristol, is very finicky when it comes to track temp on this Next Gen car and the entire setup we’ve been running.

“As we saw in the spring of last year, we had significant higher wear, probably a little too heavy. Then, in the fall kind of flipped the script because the warmer track temp.

“So, we wanted to make a change. Drivers have asked us to be aggressive.”

Drivers Being Told to Be Less Aggressive

When the first caution waved on Lap 80 when the right front area of Josh Berry’s No. 21 Ford caught fire, there were seven cars on the lead lap. He was forced to pit road and jumped out of his car as it became engulfed in black smoke and increased flames.

Under this caution, USA TV reported spotters were telling drivers to back up their corners and not dive in like they are used to doing. It was also reported Goodyear was bringing out new stacks of tires for teams.

Tire-Related Fire Eliminates Berry

For Berry, this instance officially eliminated him from Playoff contention. He was already last in the Round of 16, trailing the Cutoff Line by 45 points and needing a win to move on.

“Maybe seven or eight laps before we came down pit road, we started getting some smoke in the cockpit,” Berry said after exiting the Infield Care Center. “Then, the longer I went the darker the smoke got, obviously. “By the time we got to pit road, the car was completely black smoke.

“I’m sure it’s tire rubber or cords or something that got wrapped around the (brake) rotor or brakes. Something caught on fire.”

“We’ve qualified well, we’ve had good cars.  We just haven’t had the good finishes.  That’s just part of it.

“I don’t think you could ever script three last-place finishes in the ways that we’ve gotten them over the last few weeks.”

Tim Packman Tim Packman is a journalist for Heavy.com covering NASCAR. He grew up around the short tracks of Western New York watching his dad, stepdad and step brother race. His uncle was the head starter at many area tracks and member of the FOAR Score Hall of Fame.

Tim’s passion for racing took him to the announcer’s tower and writing program stories for multiple tracks in the area, namely Lancaster National Speedway. In 2000, he moved to Mooresville, NC to become an award-winning journalist for NASCAR.com. He took a job with Dale Earnhardt, Inc. as the team’s Communications Director and was part of two Daytona 500 wins and two NASCAR Championships.

The announcing experience led to becoming a Pit Reporter and News Director for MRN Radio. A return to the team side at Richard Childress Racing as the Director of Corporate Communications took place, which also included another Championship.

From 2015 to 2018, Tim returned to where his career began in 1994 – Lancaster National Speedway & Dragway – as the Track President. He earned Short Track Promoter of the Year awards in 2016 and 2017.

Upon returning to NC, he joined The Garage Shop as Communications Director and host of it’s Podcast and MAV-TV docuseries “Legacy of Speed” talking about Land Speed Racing at Bonneville, and other places.

Tim has hosted two other Podcasts, namely “Pub Table Racers,” and wrote three books. One was with NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Allison titled, “Bobby Allison, a Racer’s Racer” and two Children’s books, “Funny Dan the Race Car Man” and “Petey the Pace Car.”

He also served in the US Navy. More about Tim Packman

More Heavy on NASCAR

Loading more stories