Given how many late-race restarts the NASCAR Cup Series has had this season, were you surprised that the Bristol Motor Speedway race had a clean run to the finish?
James Krause: Yes and no. If drivers hadn’t shown they lose their minds with 10 laps to go in the regular season, I still would have assumed the aggression level would pick up late from playoff drivers making a last-ditch effort to advance. Then again, how aggressive can a driver be when running at the same speed as everyone else without the tires falling off?
Joy Tomlinson: No, not really. It’s a short track, and the spring race (with more tire wear) was more of an anomaly than the norm for Bristol. We’ve seen dominance before as well as long green-flag runs in the final stage. This Next Gen car just isn’t as exciting on the short tracks. Now, NASCAR did introduce the new short track package before this season started, but it wasn’t for Dover Motor Speedway or Bristol, due to the high banks. If NASCAR can take a look at what it can do for these two tracks, the racing might appear better. However, with the Bristol race being at night (as was the NASCAR Xfinity Series race, which was nearly as uneventful), the cooler temps may have affected the racing. Plus, two other series, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and ARCA Menards Series, ran too; the extra rubber could’ve created more grip.
Mike Neff: Not really thanks to the way the race played out. The cars were struggling to pass each other, and barring a complete banzai run on someone that resulted in heavy contact, the cars were not going to crash. Drivers might also be figuring out how to finish races without destroying one another.
What must Corey LaJoie do to earn the Rick Ware Racing No. 51 ride full time in 2025?
Tomlinson: Try not to crash? But seriously, just manage his equipment and learn what he can learn during this time. And perhaps find a sponsor that is willing to help him run full time next season.
Neff: Finish races with the cars intact and develop a strong rapport with the team. Making the cars better is the ultimate goal.
Krause: Corey LaJoie has to do what Justin Haley did and outperform Haley’s results. The biggest thing that’s given RWR one of its best seasons ever is just finishing races. After failing to have fewer than double-digit DNFs in each of its prior seasons, Haley failed to finish just two races this season. If LaJoie can keep his nose clean while upping his current…
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