Surprise tire issues wreak havoc during only NASCAR Cup practice in Phoenix

The lone practice session for the NASCAR Cup Series title-decider at Phoenix Raceway began with a flurry of tire issues.

It didn't take long for the drama to unfold. As Hamlin pulled out of line and slowed to avoid all the traffic, trouble found his title rival and Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Chase Briscoe.

The No. 19 slowed down the backstretch with a cut left-rear tire, dragging the underside of the car as he limped it back to the pits.

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At the same time, A.J. Allmendinger stopped with a left-front tire failure. Both incidents happened within the first five minutes of practice.

The red flag was displayed, and once the session went back green, another JGR car slowed with a cut left-rear -- Christopher Bell.

Denny Hamlin kept running despite the issues impacting his teammates, only for another red flag for the stopped car of Daniel Suarez, also with a flat left-rear.

Hamlin went to the garage and the team began work underneath the car in reaction to the tire issues.

The fifth tire issue involved another Toyota, with the No. 35 23XI Racing of Riley Herbst. Unfortunately for him, he actually hit the outside wall as the left-rear went flat.

His issue didn't cause a stoppage as he drove it back to the pits, but teams were holding their breath as they tiptoed around the circuit.

The third red flag of the session was for Allmendinger, who went straight into the wall in a major crash entering Turn 3. He later claimed he suffered a flat right-front tire just before the accident.

While it's unclear if it was another problem, Chase Elliott also slowed with a potential tire issue and immediately went to the garage out of an abundance of caution. His Hendrick Motorsports teammate and Championship 4 driver Kyle Larson also touched the wall at the exit of Turn 4 while pushing, but it was nothing to be concerned about.

The fourth red flag was for the stopped car of Kyle Busch, who cut a left-rear as well. Earlier in the session, he also touched the wall.

Briscoe got back on track, but complained about a vibration and quickly returned to the garage. Suarez cut another left-rear tire near the end of the session, but the practice remained green as he drove it back.

What's going on?

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After the session, Briscoe spoke with FS1 about his day: "I guess it's a good thing that it's not just us. It's unfortunate that it's happening, but at least we're not on an island by ourselves. I'm share James [Small, crew chief], and everybody on our Bass Pro Shops Toyota will figure out what we can do to help manage that on Sunday. But yeah, definitely alarming.

"Wasn't a great practice for us because we really didn't get to run a lot because of the issues. We'll get to work on it and see what we can do. Fortunately, it is one of those weekends where it is an hour-long practice, and you can go change things. If this was one of the normal weekends we have, we'd be in a really tight box. I'm confident we'll be just fine, just have to figure out what's going on."

Fastest drivers on track

When the practice finally reached its conclusion, it was Ty Gibbs topping the speed charts over the Team Penske duo of Ryan Blaney and Austin Cindric.

Hamlin was the fastest title contender in fifth overall, followed by William Byron in ninth, Larson in eleventh, and Briscoe in 16th.

Blaney led the way in best ten-lap and 20-lap averages, while Larson was the fastest of all drivers in 15-lap and 25-lap averages. Over the course of 30 laps, it was advantage Byron , before going back to Larson in 35-lap averages.

Larson also ran more laps than any other driver at 69 total laps.

NASCAR Cup full practice results

Driver

Manufacturer

Laps

Time

Interval

T. GibbsJoe Gibbs Racing

Toyota

27.300

131.868

R. BlaneyTeam Penske

Ford

+0.096

27.396

0.096

131.406

A. CindricTeam Penske

Ford

+0.102

27.402

0.006

131.377

R. PreeceRFK Racing

Ford

+0.107

27.407

0.005

131.353

D. HamlinJoe Gibbs Racing

Toyota

+0.126

27.426

0.019

131.262

C. ElliottHendrick Motorsports

Chevrolet

+0.150

27.450

0.024

131.148

R. ChastainTrackHouse Racing

Chevrolet

+0.152

27.452

0.002

131.138

J. BerryWood Brothers Racing

Ford

+0.159

27.459

0.007

131.105

W. ByronHendrick Motorsports

Chevrolet

+0.160

27.460

0.001

131.100

C. BellJoe Gibbs Racing

Toyota

+0.187

27.487

0.027

130.971

K. LarsonHendrick Motorsports

Chevrolet

+0.189

27.489

0.002

130.961

E. JonesLegacy Motor Club

Toyota

+0.191

27.491

0.002

130.952

T. GillilandFront Row Motorsports

Ford

+0.201

27.501

0.010

130.904

J. LoganoTeam Penske

Ford

+0.215

27.515

0.014

130.838

C. HocevarSpire Motorsports

Chevrolet

+0.239

27.539

0.024

130.724

C. BriscoeJoe Gibbs Racing

Toyota

+0.241

27.541

0.002

130.714

Z. SmithFront Row Motorsports

Ford

+0.261

27.561

0.020

130.619

B. Wallace23XI Racing

Toyota

+0.264

27.564

0.003

130.605

J. NemechekLegacy Motor Club

Toyota

+0.271

27.571

0.007

130.572

M. McDowellSpire Motorsports

Chevrolet

+0.277

27.577

0.006

130.544

A. DillonRichard Childress Racing

Chevrolet

+0.292

27.592

0.015

130.473

T. Reddick23XI Racing

Toyota

+0.308

27.608

0.016

130.397

K. BuschRichard Childress Racing

Chevrolet

+0.334

27.634

0.026

130.274

A. BowmanHendrick Motorsports

Chevrolet

+0.349

27.649

0.015

130.204

R. Stenhouse JrHyak Motorsports

Chevrolet

+0.359

27.659

0.010

130.157

D. SuarezTrackHouse Racing

Chevrolet

+0.389

27.689

0.030

130.016

C. BuescherRFK Racing

Ford

+0.399

27.699

0.010

129.969

C. CusterHaas Factory Team

Ford

+0.407

27.707

0.008

129.931

R. Herbst23XI Racing

Toyota

+0.429

27.729

0.022

129.828

C. WareRick Ware Racing

Ford

+0.445

27.745

0.016

129.753

A. AllmendingerKaulig Racing

Chevrolet

+0.449

27.749

0.004

129.734

J. HaleySpire Motorsports

Chevrolet

+0.461

27.761

0.012

129.678

N. GragsonFront Row Motorsports

Ford

+0.475

27.775

0.014

129.613

T. DillonKaulig Racing

Chevrolet

+0.480

27.780

0.005

129.590

B. KeselowskiRFK Racing

Ford

+0.492

27.792

0.012

129.534

S. van GisbergenTrackHouse Racing

Chevrolet

+0.524

27.824

0.032

129.385

C. MearsGarage 66

Ford

+0.895

28.195

0.371

127.682

J. YeleyNY Racing Team

Chevrolet

+0.909

28.209

0.014

127.619

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