Front Row Motorsports driver Zane Smith walked away from Bristol with more than just a top-five finish; he came away with a reminder of how unpredictable short-track racing can be at a place like Bristol. The night quickly turned into a test of patience and adaptability as drivers grappled with extreme Goodyear tire wear that only a few had anticipated.Tire management has always been part of the equation at Bristol, but the way rubber was laid down on the track last weekend caught everyone around the garage by surprise. Smith explained that conditions seemed manageable at first, before his spotter stepped in with a warning.Zane Smith shared his experience of the race and the tire degradation, giving an insight into what happened during the race when asked about "why the tires degraded so much faster during the weekend"."I don't know. We knew this tire was really soft, and they showed some cords after about 70 laps. We didn't expect it to be like that. I mean, they cooled down. The rubber, I think, was getting actually put down on the racetrack... I actually got told by my Spotter. I want to say, like 20 laps into the run. Hey, it's marbling up, so just be mindful of your right sides, and to be honest, I didn't really listen much," Zane Smith said via Speed Freaks. View this post on Instagram Instagram PostSmith finished third during the Bass Pro Shops Night Race in Bristol and is currently ranked 27th in the NASCAR Cup Series, scoring 519 points so far. The driver failed to qualify for the playoffs but will be back in action for the next race at New Hampshire.Steve Letarte explains what exactly happened to the tires during the race in BristolAfter a chaotic night at Bristol that saw drivers scrambling with unexpected tire wear, former crew chief and NBC analyst Steve Letarte offered some much-needed clarity. For many fans, it seemed baffling: why could teams run long, smooth stretches in practice, only to find their tires shredded in the race just a day later?Letarte pulled up the data and explained it in simple terms while showing graphs of the tire wear in practice compared to the race."During practice, that red line reminds you, 65 laps, no problem on tires. A second faster than how they ran the race, the track temperature was 110 degrees. We start the race 20 degrees cooler, 90 degrees. The only change, remember, 28 hours later, same cars, same track, same setup, same tires that could run 70 laps on Friday, couldn't run 30 laps on Saturday just because of some track temperature changes... Just 20 degrees of track temperature was the difference between a set of tires making it or a set of tires wearing all the way to the fabric," Steve Letarte said via X.Interestingly, as the race unfolded, drivers began adapting. Letarte highlighted Christopher Bell's car’s longest run around lap 150, where smart adjustments behind the wheel allowed nearly practice-level tire longevity, resulting in him taking the victory during the exciting and unpredictable race.