Can NASCAR drivers predict racing conditions based on the condition of the track? According to Kyle Petty, the answer is a disappointed ‘no’. The 64-year-old has criticized drivers’ inability to predict how repavement will affect their performance, particularly at Iowa Speedway, despite having the opportunity to practice.
The 2024 NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series have seen drivers racing on plenty of tracks that have been either fully or partially repaved, which has undoubtedly influenced their performance and strategy. With the Next Gen car not doing as well as expected on short tracks and road courses, Kyle Petty believes that fresh repavement helps drivers take more aggressive chances, thus delivering more entertaining races.
Kyle Petty calls out NASCAR drivers
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Despite the NASCAR Cup Series making its way to Iowa Speedway for the first time, 29 out of 36 drivers had already driven on the track in another series. Every driver had a 50-minute practice session at Iowa Speedway to familiarize themselves with the partial repaving at the turns. Additionally, Goodyear organized a tire test on May 28th, with Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson, and Christopher Bell collecting plenty of data for both NASCAR and Goodyear.
However, despite getting plenty of practice on the track, drivers remained seemingly unprepared for the challenges that lay ahead. This prompted Kyle Petty to express his frustration on PRN’s Fast Talk. He said, “You cannot listen to those guys. They’re their own worst enemies and they don’t even know it. After the tire test at Iowa, we heard how bad it was going to be. How bad the racing was going to be, how bad everything was. And these guys go and test, and say ‘still don’t know what’s going to happen.’ You ‘don’t know what’s going to happen’?”
As with any track or road surface, regular maintenance improves the quality of races, reduces tire wear, and improves grip. Urging NASCAR to be aggressive with their track maintenance, Kyle Petty said, “You have to repave these tracks at some point in time. You can’t continue. They paved Daytona in 58, they paved it again in 79 and they paved it a few years ago. Every 20 or 25 years, we’re going to have to come in and pave these places. You beg for your street to be paved, these racetracks have to be paved to continue to move forward and to put on the show.”
Iowa Speedway had been waiting for its moment in the limelight for 18 years. All it needed was a cosmetic facelift. However, with any such procedure, there are risks involved, and in this instance, it wasn’t pretty. The 0.875-mile track had its bottom and middle lanes partially repaved with black asphalt, while the top lane was untouched. Despite how entertaining the race was, it did limit drivers from driving in the topmost lane, to not compromise their speed.
So why was it partially repaved? It was all a matter of timing! Even though Iowa’s progressive banking configuration was loved by NASCAR racers, inspection on the track revealed that some of the lower grooves were damaged beyond repair due to moisture under the surface. This meant, in Kyle Petty’s words, “It had to be paved, not needed to be paved”, but with the process starting late, the complete repavement couldn’t happen on time.
The repavement was not the only change that Petty supported. With Goodyear having been under scrutiny this year, Petty upheld both their and NASCAR’s efforts at the New Hampshire race.
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Kyle Petty praises NASCAR for using wet tires
Kyle Petty heaped praises on NASCAR for the way wet weather tires were used in rain-affected New Hampshire during USA Today 301. Race was halted with 82 laps to go due to severe weather conditions, with all indications pointing towards it ending prematurely. However, a landmark decision by NASCAR meant that drivers were able to complete their full allotment of laps at the Magic Mile.
Impressed by how the wet weather tires performed, and the quality of racing after it was resumed, Kyle Petty said, “It’s a wet weather tire. It is not a rain tire people. We didn’t see any windshield wipers on these cars. It’s a wet weather tire, and I want to throw something at you, in wet conditions, the track gets slick. Slick track means throttle, means driver, means good racing. Let’s just put those three together right there.”
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Racing under damp conditions, drivers began looking for drier parts of the track to get a competitive advantage. This opened up the track, which gave drivers overtaking opportunities towards the end of the race. Speaking about this, Petty said, “That’s because that’s what weather tires do. They allow you to run in other places. They allow the racetrack to open up. I thought what we saw was great driving from all the competitors yesterday. They all adjusted well, some better than others. When it comes to a race like this, it’s an open game. Anybody can win, anytime.”
Do you think wet weather tires have a shining future in NASCAR? Let us know in the comments!