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NASCAR: Five Lessons Learned From The Quaker State 400 At Kentucky

By Michael Guadalupe

Jul 11, 2015; Sparta, KY, USA; Sprint Cup Series driver Joey Logano (22) and Sprint Cup Series driver Jimmie Johnson (48) during the Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 11, 2015; Sparta, KY, USA; Sprint Cup Series driver Joey Logano (22) and Sprint Cup Series driver Jimmie Johnson (48) during the Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jul 7, 2016; Sparta, KY, USA; NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Jimmie Johnson (48) drives during practice for the Quaker State 400 presented by Advance Auto Parts at Kentucky Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Jimmie Johnson couldn’t handle the changes at Kentucky and hit the wall early. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports /

Drivers Struggled With All the Changes

When drivers competed at Kentucky Speedway on Saturday night, they weren’t racing on the same track they had been on for the past several years.

Kentucky was recently repaved, changing the bankings and the grooves on the track to hopefully give drivers more lines to race in.

The re-pavement also caused Goodyear to bring out a new tire after testing back in June showed that the tire they originally planned on using would blister up.

Because of these two changes though, several drivers struggled on Saturday night. Jimmie Johnson, Joey Logano and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. all got into the wall after having issues with their tires.

Besides for a new surface and new tires, drivers were also handling the new downforce package rule, which made the cars harder to control.

As mentioned earlier, three wide racing at one point saw Ryan Blaney get loose and hit into Chase Elliot, taking out both rookie drivers. Blaney struggled to get control of his car as he got loose thanks to the new downforce package.

Three major changes dramatically impacted the Kentucky race and were too much for some drivers to handle all at once.

Next: A Work in Progress

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