NASCAR’s storied rivalry between drivers and tire wear reached a new peak at Bristol Motor Speedway in September 2025, as Dale Earnhardt Jr Goodyear concern surfaced following another dramatic race in the Cup Series. Goodyear’s ongoing tire experiments have prompted both excitement and apprehension across the garage, with drivers, crew chiefs, and former champions weighing in on the resulting changes to competition and strategy.
Goodyear’s Experimental Approach Redefines Bristol Races
When NASCAR’s Cup drivers rolled out for the Food City 500 in spring 2024, few anticipated that their tires would begin to deteriorate before the 50-lap mark. The swift wear resulted in a chaotic spectacle—drivers scrambled for fresh rubber, strategies shifted on the fly, and the number of lead changes surged, thrilling the fans. Goodyear, recognizing both the challenge and popularity of these high-wear conditions, embarked on a two-year series of tire tests at Bristol, seeking a formula that would both push competitors and delight spectators.
The culmination of these efforts was on display at the Bass Pro Shops Night Race, where Christopher Bell outlasted a field beset by rapid tire degradation in a contest featuring 36 lead changes, ranking among the most eventful in the track’s history. Bristol’s unpredictable racing, amplified by intense tire wear, kept everyone guessing, and yet behind the scenes, seasoned figures like Dale Earnhardt Jr. found themselves both impressed and troubled by the direction of change.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Expresses Reservations About Goodyear’s Tire Evolution
Goodyear had introduced a redesigned right-side tire, engineered to last roughly 100 laps, but inconclusive wear during Friday’s practice left some teams unconcerned. Practice temperatures held steady at 83 degrees ambient with a 100-degree track surface, and cars could run extended stints with minimal tire fall-off. This created expectations of a conservative, possibly uneventful, Saturday night race. However, as the starting flag flew in cooler conditions—71 degrees ambient and an 89-degree surface—the rapid tire decline began anew, echoing the spring’s unpredictability and causing alarm among veterans.
“The direction that Goodyear’s going, maybe it’s a bit extreme,”
Dale Earnhardt Jr., longtime Cup and Xfinity winner at Bristol, voiced after the event.
Earnhardt Jr. drew attention to how tire technology and race conditions have evolved since his driving days. He remarked on how tire wear historically corresponded with heat, noting that cooler temperatures used to lessen degradation and often produced less exciting racing. Now, the chemistry of Goodyear’s newest compounds seems to reverse that logic, with cooler nights producing more aggressive fall-off and adding unpredictability to short-track races across the board.
“For all of my life, I always associated tire wear with heat…and if you would have a cool temperature, you would have less falloff, less wear. Cool temperatures weren’t conducive to good racing or wear. But now, it’s the opposite…It’s my opinion that the way they make the tire – the chemicals or the lack of chemicals…part of the process and infused into the rubber, had changed the tire and how the tire reacts to different surfaces and temperatures. So we’re starting to see this across the board in short-track racing as well.”
– Dale Earnhardt Jr., former Cup and Xfinity Series driver
Another detail catching Earnhardt Jr.’s attention was the change in rubber debris swept from the track, which now turns into powder, a stark contrast to the sticky, malleable rubber of the past.
“Whether it was the Hoosier tires…or Goodyear’s radials, they used to have oils and chemicals and stuff, when it would wear, the balls of the entire debris would go off the racetrack…you could smear it in your hand. Now, when the tire does wear, it’s a fine powder. It is completely foreign to what we’ve known for years.”
– Dale Earnhardt Jr., former Cup and Xfinity Series driver
He concluded by observing the entire industry’s need to reassess what factors lead to tire degradation and which conditions now dictate longevity and grip at critical moments.
“So now we’re kind of relearning what instigates the tire to wear and what conditions we need.”
– Dale Earnhardt Jr., former Cup and Xfinity Series driver
During this transformative period, incidents like Austin Cindric’s car catching fire during a pit stop added to growing questions about the durability and consistency of Goodyear’s products. Observers and competitors in the NASCAR Cup Series expressed a wide range of views about whether Goodyear’s approach was enhancing or undermining the essence of stock car racing.
“Is Goodyear’s tire strategy enhancing the thrill or ruining the essence of NASCAR racing?”
– Unknown
Drivers and Teams Confront New Strategic Puzzles
The introduction of high-wear tires by Goodyear has brought both admiration and skepticism within the paddock. Denny Hamlin encapsulated the reaction of many drivers to the spring 2024 race, where tire wear created an electrifying blend of unpredictability and challenge for all, not just the leaders. Among fans, this meant more action and upsets; among teams, it meant constant adaptation.
“I like this type of racing (but) I’d like to plan for it. But you don’t get as much chaos if you planned for it. But certainly, a version of this. I’d like to know that we can run 60 to 70, because then we know we could run hard, and I was just not in a position where I could run hard tonight.”
– Denny Hamlin, Cup Series driver
However, as the initial novelty faded, questions arose about whether the degree of fall-off had become excessive. In particular, the left-side tires attracted technical criticism, with some believing that Goodyear’s focus on right-side compounds had resulted in imbalanced wear.
“The left sides aren’t wearing enough. They really, really, really have to go to work on the left sides of this track and get a right side that will live. I know they will work on it.”
– Chris Gabehart, Joe Gibbs Racing competition director
Changing environmental factors were offered as possible explanations for these new performance profiles. Drew Blickensderfer, Noah Gragson’s crew chief at Front Row Motorsports, highlighted the unexpected influence of ultraviolet light, suggesting variables beyond surface and ambient temperatures might now shape tire performance in ways teams do not yet fully grasp.
“I think we found out for a lot of years that it is just as much about UV light than it is surface temperature, and who knows why we didn’t have this last fall. But yeah, I think it was surprising to everyone by Lap 35 when we saw it happening again.”
– Drew Blickensderfer, crew chief at Front Row Motorsports
Beyond individual opinions, these persistent uncertainties have seeded nervous energy throughout the Cup Series. Technicians and strategists now face a steeper learning curve, needing to observe not just Goodyear’s future tire adjustments, but an evolving set of atmospheric and mechanical influences that can swiftly change a race’s complexion.
NASCAR’s Next Chapter: Searching for Balance Between Drama and Tradition
With Goodyear’s tire experiments transforming race strategies and fanning debate among drivers like Dale Earnhardt Jr., the entire NASCAR community stands at an inflection point. While fans—represented by enthusiastic audiences in Tennessee and across the USA—relish the unpredictable lead changes and tight finishes, veterans fear erosion of what once made Bristol and other short tracks unique in their rhythm and tactics.
The current situation demands attention from Goodyear, NASCAR officials, crew chiefs, and drivers alike as they seek to address the imbalance in tire wear and pursue greater predictability without extinguishing the intensity that now draws larger, more passionate crowds. For now, every new race at Bristol Motor Speedway, and potentially across other venues, represents the ongoing negotiation between progress and heritage within stock car racing, with the outcome still wide open.
