Four drivers got caught up in crashes this morning at the Bristol Motor Speedway in opening Sprint Cup Series practice.
Within three minutes of opening NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice, Danica Patrick got loose on the outside lane and hit the No. 30 of Parker Kligerman. Patrick suffered some heavy damage and will move to a backup car. The Swan Racing team will try and repair the No. 30 that suffered some fender damage in the session.
Kyle Busch touched the wall off turn two to cause some damage to his right side fender and rear quarter panel portion. Busch, driving the No. 18 Skittle’s car this weekend, will be another driver who will move to a backup car.
Greg Biffle, driving the No. 16 Ford, spun his car off turn four and smacked the outside wall. After he smacked the outside wall just before the start/finish line, Biffle tried correcting the car, but was unsuccessful and smacked the inside wall that damaged the front end. Biffle will also move to a backup for Sunday. The incident happed with about 57 minutes remaining in practice.
Justin Allgaier, who is a former winner at Bristol in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, came up the track to allow Jeff Gordon to easily pass him into turn one. Allgaier went a little too high that he couldn’t get off of the outside wall to also damage his right side. He will also switch to a backup car.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. also suffered some damage on his car during practice from a single car incident. Stenhouse Jr. will not go to a backup as they will fix the car prior to knockout qualifying later this afternoon.
Why are some drivers having problems? Well, many drivers have said it’s most likely caused by three things. The new rules package, new tire combination and the cold track temperature. The left sides being used in the Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series is the same tire Goodyear brought to New Hampshire last season. The right side tires have a slight change into the tire compound. The tire set-up was set in a Bristol Motor Speedway test session last season in mid-September.
Because the drivers went to a backup car before qualifying, and that it can be fixed before knockout qualifying begins, they will not have to start the race at the rear per the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series rulebook.
About Me: Brett has been following the sport of NASCAR since the beginning of the 2006 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. Since Brett was 13, he has had a passion of chasing a job in sports that not many get the opportunity of doing. He has been in the NASCAR media since the middle of the 2010 season. Since then, he has been a part of many racing podcast shows to improve his talents. He has written for racingonfuel.com and theracingwheel.com. Currently, Brett writes for motorsportsnat.com and TracksideChatter.com. You can find him on twitter @NASCAR_Brett.
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