NASCAR execs tease change that would make cars faster after driver complaints
NASCAR executives could decide to increase the horsepower in the Next Gen car, which would address many drivers' concerns and complaints.
NASCAR executives could increase the Next Gen car's power, much to the delight of many drivers in the sport.
The Next Gen car has been one that neither fans nor drivers have fawned over, with many believing that the car's lack of horsepower is making races dull. Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) star Denny Hamlin has repeatedly claimed that increasing the horsepower could solve many issues plaguing the sport at present.
And it appears that NASCAR executives could be changing their thoughts on the Next Gen car as well. During an appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Elton Sayer, NASCAR's vice president of competition, shared that there have been talks regarding an increase in power.
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What's more, Mike Forde, the managing director of communications for NASCAR, added more fuel to the fire of the Next Gen cars potentially have more horsepower in the future.
“It was something we proactively brought up to have a further discussion of improving the short-track package," he said [h/t SportsNaut]. "Obviously the drivers all embraced that topic and requested more and more horsepower. So we said, ‘You got it. We’ll look into it.’ We are working with engine builders on that, and we’ll see if this is something that’s put into place this season.”
This is not the first time Forde has spoken on an increase in horsepower. Earlier in May, he spoke on the 'Hauler Talk' podcast and declared NASCAR was looking into making the Next Gen car more powerful based on the feedback they've received from drivers throughout the months.
"Yeah, well, I'm sure that'll come up this weekend and that's something that we're going to look at seriously," he said at the time. "I think, you know, you, you hear I, you know, levels of 900, a thousand horsepower. I don't know if that's going to be on [the table], it's not on the table just because of the cost, but you know, there's some conversation of, can you go up to 750?
"And that's something that, well, I'm sure we'll discuss with the drivers too. I don't want to make any promises or get anyone's hopes up, but that is, we seriously listen to the, to the drivers and their feedback and we'll see what we can do there."
As it stands, the Next Gen car is limited to 670 horsepower, though Hamlin believes it is an easy and collaborative process to get the car where it needs to be. During an episode of the 'Actions Detrimental' podcast, the JGR star explained his thought process as a driver and also as a co-owner of his own team.
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“We can fix this car. The teams can fix this car,” he said. "We just got to get with the drivers, get in a room and figure out what do you fight? Why can’t you pass? And then come up with some remedies of how we can change this.”
He added: “They just didn’t do enough testing. The car wasn’t ready. We had to delay it one year, we had the COVID thing - it was not thought out enough... We didn’t have multiple racecars on the racetrack testing this car until two months before the very first race. And at that moment is when we all realized holy ----, you cannot pass. It was really, really bad.
“Now, we did some things. We were going to run 500 horsepower. That was the original plan is to run 500 horsepower in this thing. But it was so horrible that we got them talked into 670.”
