LOUDON, N.H. — Throughout much of the weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, conversation centered around whether a resin that NASCAR had applied to the track would actually improve the racing.
Based on the initial reactions from drivers, it worked perfectly.
Following Sunday’s Overton’s 301, Kyle Larson said he thinks the PJ1 conditioning did a great job promoting passing. NASCAR applied the compound to both the top and bottom of the race track to try an increase the grip levels outside the groove.
“I thought it was awesome; I was surprised how well it worked,” Larson said. “I like the element of change and how it may wear out slightly and wear out in different spots. (Sunday), everyone I got around was running a different line. You could run three or four different lanes. It was fun.”
Denny Hamlin, who held off Larson in Stage 3 to win the race at NHMS, shared that opinion, and added that he hopes more tracks use it.
“New Hampshire did a good job of listening to the drivers, and where they wanted to put it,” Hamlin said, “and I think it created a multi-lane race track (Sunday) like, really, we haven’t see here in a while.”
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver’s success wasn’t just a product of the PJ1, though, as he’s done well at the track in the past as well.
“As far as I’m concerned we should race here 10 times a year,” Hamlin said.
Thumbnail photo via NASCAR
