“God d-mn it, I knew this would f–king happen,” said William Byron. The Hendrick Motorsports driver couldn’t help but vent out his frustration on the team radio after struggling for grip at Bristol Motor Speedway. With the final Round of the 16 playoff race underway, the stakes couldn’t be higher for the No. 24 Chevy driver, who is hoping to break his five-race winless streak at the 2025 Bass Pro Shops Night Race. However, if the radio exchanges are anything to go by, the 27-year-old is less than impressed by his crew chief, Rudy Fugle’s strategy.
Starting in seventh place, Byron finished Stage 1 in third place, showing lightning-fast speed at the short track to steadily gain track positions. But as the laps ticked on, tire wear took its toll, while Carson Hocevar and Alex Bowman continued to close the gap on fresher rubber. Urged to “Stay in it,” the racer couldn’t help but say, “This is f–ked, this is f–ked. Our right rears are f–ked.” But despite the temper flaring on the team radio, Fugle remained calm and collected and sent a measured response, saying, “This is your lap time, 17.60. We gotta keep going until we get an 18.0.”
The lack of tire wear has been a consistent issue on short tracks, particularly in the Next-Gen era, but it looks like the playoff race at Bristol Motor Speedway isn’t facing such issues. According to The Athletic’s Jeff Gluck, the race has already seen 14 lead changes 30 laps before the halfway point, significantly higher than the 12 lead changes combined in the last two races at ‘The Last Great Colosseum.’ Perhaps NASCAR has finally cracked the formula once and for all, especially if Byron’s tires after he pitted are anything to go by.