It’s not exactly shocking to hear Kyle Busch being critical of NASCAR.
“Rowdy” never has been shy about voicing his displeasure with the sport, as he has been one of the biggest critics of the new rules package. But this time, Busch has some other drivers behind him.
Busch was unhappy to find that the upper groove at Bristol Motor Speedway had been “ground or polished” ahead of this weekend’s Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at the legendary half-miler, according to FOX Sport’s Bob Pockrass.
Busch added that he was not surprised that Speedway Motorsports Inc. did so without informing teams or drivers.
Drivers frustrated they not told about track upper groove being ground or polished. KyBusch said SMI does whatever it wants. SMI says the only thing they did was scrape the rubber off the top groove, told me to think like a buffing machine and water. They did it in the last wk.
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) August 16, 2019
.@KyleBusch says once drivers saw the upper groove was changed/polished/whatever, they started texting each other in their chain asking if anyone knew about it. Nope. Says he’s “not surprised by anything,” which I feel like I’ve heard somewhere before.
— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) August 16, 2019
Kyle’s brother Kurt and Denny Hamlin both backed up that insight, with Hamlin noting that “SMI has had a history of just changing tracks on a whim without much communication.”
.@KyleBusch says once drivers saw the upper groove was changed/polished/whatever, they started texting each other in their chain asking if anyone knew about it. Nope. Says he’s “not surprised by anything,” which I feel like I’ve heard somewhere before.
— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) August 16, 2019
It’s my understanding that @MarcusSMI told track workers to do it. He’s not here unfortunately or media could possibly ask him for the reasoning behind it. SMI has had a history of just changing tracks on a whim without much communication. https://t.co/eD9JcVY3fp
— Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin) August 16, 2019
Racing room at Bristol is as tight as it gets in NASCAR, and changing the upper groove obviously is going to have a massive impact on the racing that takes place.
Hamlin took pole nonetheless for Saturday night’s race, while Kyle Busch only could manage 31st after hitting the wall during his session.
