Saturday’s race was all about Larson. He had the best car, without question. But behind him, the race was largely uneventful. Drivers repeatedly complained about how difficult it was to pass, with only eight lead changes throughout the entire event.
Kyle Larson’s commanding Bristol Night Race victory Larson finished with a 7.1-second margin of victory, delivering the third most dominant win in Bristol’s history.
With only four leaders, the 2024 Bass Pro Shops Night Race joined the ranks of the 2023 Bristol Dirt and 2022 spring Martinsville races as some of the least competitive in terms of cars leading the pack during the Next Gen car era.
In a playoff system where the championship is determined across these 10 races, divided into four rounds, Gluck insists it’s unacceptable for tire performance to vary so much from week to week.
“Well, that’s a problem,” Gluck said. “There needs to be accountability or an explanation, whether from Goodyear, NASCAR, or whoever. You can’t have this kind of inconsistency. The race was straightforward, sure.
But moving forward, whether it’s championship races or cutoff races, teams shouldn’t show up on race day saying, ‘I have no idea what this tire is going to do.’ Tires are a crucial part of the race. It’s inconsistent, and we don’t know why, or how to explain it.”
