Texas Motor Speedway criticized following chaotic NASCAR race

There was “chaos” during the NASCAR Cup playoff race Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway, a track that currently “is not working,” according to Kelly Crandall of RACER.com. The racing “has been lacking since the reconfiguration following which Turns 1 and 2 are different from Turns 3 and 4.” What started as a construction project to fix drainage issues “turned into fixing something else — the configuration — that wasn’t broken.” Something “needs to be done.” NASCAR driver Kyle Larson said, “I would like them to demolish this place first and then start over from scratch.” His teammate Alex Bowman added, “The racetrack that we have now has not produced what we want. So, there are a lot of smart people working on it and thinking about how to make it better. Got to do something.” There has been “no announcement from NASCAR or Speedway Motorsports about what could be next for Texas.” The expectation, at least based on “how it’s become a topic of conversation, is that it won’t stay the same, and something will be done soon” (RACER.com, 9/26).

BURNING RUBBER: In Daytona Beach, Ken Willis noted on Sunday, “rubber-coated time bombs ignited here and there to dramatically change the race’s personality.” Right-rear tires were “detonating left and right, and three times to guys leading the race: Chase Elliott, Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr.” Elliott’s blown tire “spun him out of the race and all the way down to eighth in the updated standings.” Two other playoff drivers, Christopher Bell and Bowman, “also lost big ground after losing right-rears” (Daytona Beach NEWS-JOURNAL, 9/27).

WHO’S AT FAULT? NBC Sports’s Marty Snider noted “at least” eight drivers had tire issues at TMS on Sunday. NBC Sports’s Jeff Burton said the question of “who is at fault” is a “fair one” to ask. Burton said crew chiefs are “not intentionally” putting too much air pressure in tires to have them blow out and “they think they’re within the margin. Goodyear thinks they’ve brought a tire that will, if you stay in the limit, it’s okay and that’s a difficult part for the teams is, ‘What is that limit?’” Burton: “The difficult part for Goodyear is, ‘Okay, we tested, we’ve made these changes throughout the year, the problem has gotten better,’ and now here they pop again two weeks in a row. It’s a complicated problem. I do want to say this: Goodyear can build a tire that is 100% bulletproof. They can do that and the racing’s horrible.” NBC Sports’s Kyle Petty said, “There were so many factors that played into it that made it the perfect thing to break. I’ll say this: the only thing I don’t think was a factor was the racetrack.” Burton: “It’s unreasonable to think that you’re going to launch a brand-new car with a brand-new size wheel and a brand-new size tire and a completely different suspension system, a totally different car, and not think we were going to have problems” (“NASCAR America Motormouths,” NBCSPORTS.com, 9/26).