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Chase Briscoe said NASCAR’s short-track bumper changes will be tested hardest this weekend at Martinsville Speedway, and that it “would not surprise me if somebody knocks a radiator out” in Sunday’s Xfinity 500.
What NASCAR changed
NASCAR announced in June that it would no longer allow energy-absorbing foam in the front or rear bumper structure of Cup cars at short tracks, and that teams would modify the front bumper struts, RACER reported. The goal was to soften the hits drivers take when they are bumped from behind, because the Next Gen car is so stiff that the contact is jarring and rarely damages the car.
The package has been used at North Wilkesboro, Richmond and Bristol. Martinsville is the last race on the list.
Briscoe: ‘Bigger than a lot of wrecks’
“I definitely think this will be the one that makes the most difference,” Briscoe said. “Truthfully, just I think a lot of the changes for this bumper structure came for Martinsville.”
“You kind of have that big stack up a lot of the time getting into the corner and yeah, I think maybe it was in the spring race this year. I mean, I had like a 25G bumper tag thing, which is just insane. It’s bigger than a lot of wrecks sometimes.”
He said the other short tracks don’t produce the same pileups. “Bristol, you just don’t really get a lot of stack-ups per se, and even North Wilkesboro and Richmond when we ran it, you just don’t have those big stack-ups where Martinsville, you have that all the time.”
“It would not surprise me if somebody knocks a radiator out this weekend, as we did in the old days, just because it is very different at Martinsville than other places we go.”
Letarte agrees
USA Sports analyst Steve Letarte, a former Cup crew chief, said the change came at the drivers’ request.
“We’ve seen at Martinsville where these cars make very significant contact without the car sliding or wrecking,” Letarte said. “So, the removal of the foam and some of the bumper structure. I like the concept. I don’t know it will work out. If I was a crew chief, I’d be nervous as well. If there’s a stack-up on a restart, we could absolutely see some radiators knocked out.”
“I could tell you in 1996 if there was a stack-up on the restart, you’re knocking the radiator out. So it’s going to feel very old school, but only time will tell.”
What’s at stake
Briscoe, who drives the No. 19 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, is fourth in the Chase standings, 79 points behind Kyle Larson. A damaged radiator at Martinsville could end any driver’s title hopes. Larson clinches the championship Sunday if he leaves with a lead of at least 77 points.
Cup practice is Saturday at 1 p.m. ET, with qualifying at 2:05 p.m., on truTV and HBO Max. The Xfinity 500 is Sunday, November 1, at 2 p.m. ET on NBC from Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia.
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