While it isn’t a particularly hot day in Martinsville, the cars on track are very hot. Ask Ty Gibbs, Erik Jones, and Austin Cindric. Those three NASCAR drivers are having problems with their cool suits, the mechanisms that pump cool water under the firesuits drivers wear while racing.
Not everyone uses a cool suit, and there are reasons for that. They take a lot of power to run. That means there are times when they simply do not work.
When the cool suits start to fail, the water is no longer cooled. So, the suit keeps pumping water as it gets increasingly hotter and hotter in the car. Could be a long day for Ty Gibbs, Erik Jones, and Austin Cindric.
Good news for these drivers and others who might have similar problems, it is overcast at Martinsville. The sun isn’t going to heat the track up nearly as much as if it were sunny all day long. But that won’t be much of a saving grace.
This is one of the few times in the last 20 races or so that Ty Gibbs has looked like himself. He has had STRUGGLES dating back to the second half of last season. With his cool suit failing, Gibbs is going to be hot and likely hotheaded for the rest of this race.
Ty Gibbs gets spun by Zane Smith at Martinsville
From bad to worse. As Ty Gibbs was racing in the 11th position, he was turned by Zane Smith and he was not happy. In fact, Gibbs warned his team that they needed to keep him away from Smith after the race. Maybe he has a few things to say to him on pit road when this is all said and done.
Gibbs needs good run today. He is going to drive like a mad man to get back to the front and land top-10 finish. With 47 laps to go, he has made it back to P12 and is still moving up. He may have the car and the determination to do it, today.
Working with a rookie Cup Series crew chief can be hard. That adjustment period has clearly taken longer than Chris Gayle and Denny Hamlin. Tyler Allen is a solid crew chief though, and today might be the first sign that he is understanding these cars and his driver better.
Today still might be a good day for Ty Gibbs. A few setbacks, but he has been fighting all evening.
