NASCAR Weighs Easing Next Gen Car's 'Spec' Nature to Rekindle Competitive Variance

Charlotte, NC – The NASCAR industry is reportedly considering a strategic shift away from the strictly standardized "spec" nature of the Next Gen car, a move that could reintroduce greater design and engineering differentiation among teams and potentially enhance on-track competition. This consideration comes four years into the Next Gen era, a period where, despite increased passing statistics according to NASCAR’s data, a sentiment persists among some prominent figures within the sport that the uniformity of the car is inadvertently stifling dynamic racing.

The debate around the Next Gen car’s spec design was present even before its official debut. Chase Elliott, a 2020 Cup Series champion driving for Hendrick Motorsports, was among the earliest voices to express concern. He articulated that the previous generation of Cup cars had already seen passing become increasingly difficult due to a tightening of the rulebook, which confined teams within narrower design parameters. The underlying principle is that the more identical race cars are, the closer their performance becomes, leading to more procedural races, particularly on tracks with limited racing grooves.

"We’ve talked about this before, but for sure, the more we’re the same, the harder it is to be different," Elliott recently stated in an interview with Motorsport.com. "Everyone at this level is really good at driving these cars. Most of the tracks we go to, there is a preferred lane, and when the track gets rubbered in over the second half of these races, it becomes really difficult to do something different than the guy ahead of you since he’s in the optimal line." Elliott also attributed some of the current parity to the natural progression of motorsport, where teams and engineers have become more adept at optimizing car performance through aerodynamics and tuning over the past two decades.

Despite these concerns, Elliott acknowledges the reality of the current situation and the demands placed upon his Hendrick Motorsports No. 9 team. "So now, we’ve never had a bigger emphasis on qualifying and your pit stall, how fast that last pit stop is, and all those things," he explained. "It’s for sure a different time in motorsports, regardless. So, in my view, you have to learn to appreciate the challenges that we have today, because I just think they’re probably going to be a little bit different and, and probably going to be different forever."

Related News :

However, NASCAR is not dismissing these sentiments. League president Steve O’Donnell confirmed during an appearance on "The Dale Jr Download" in October that the sanctioning body is open to exploring modifications to the Next Gen car’s specifications. "We’re always open to changes," O’Donnell remarked. "The one piece I really look at, and I think our group does, we have this car and some things contained from a cost standpoint but what does everyone really like? The ability to tweak on the car and find an advantage to do something cool. What’s the next iteration of that? Now that we have the parts and pieces long term, maybe we look at race teams are making some parts again, some things we can open up." O’Donnell emphasized that such changes would likely be implemented within a cost-controlled framework, aiming to avoid the "wasteful spending" of previous eras while reintroducing engineering creativity. "We give it a cost cap where we can open it up. But we’ve at least stopped the wasteful spending and now we want to get it back to where an engineer can come in and tweak on a car or an OEM can say ‘this is our IP and we want to try something’ from a new technology standpoint. We’re open to tweaking on it. We had the mindset of needing to stop the bleeding so now what can we do to keep making the racing better?"

The prospect of loosening the Next Gen car’s specifications has elicited varied responses from within the garage. When asked about the possibility, Chase Elliott expressed a cautious curiosity, stating, "It’s just hard to speculate because I don’t know what specifically he is talking about. Like, super casually, yeah but I just don’t know what he means."

Similarly, Brad Keselowski, a former Cup Series champion and current team owner, indicated that a definitive opinion would require more concrete details. "It’s hard to provide an answer without knowing what exactly they would want to do," he commented.

Adam Stevens, crew chief for Christopher Bell at Joe Gibbs Racing, voiced more overt enthusiasm for the idea, recalling the competitive advantages derived from engineering innovation. "I mean, that’s interesting and I hadn’t heard that OD said that at all," Stevens said. "I would certainly be in favor of it. Even if I remove myself from the crew chief chair, and take the 30,000 foot view, when you have the ability to work on the car beyond the shocks, and springs, and set-up parameters, it creates competition, right? Throughout the history of the sport, at least in my time, somebody has a hot hand and someone doesn’t. You can be on the leading edge of the development curve and everyone catches up and you have to get back to work. It creates comers and goers, and fast cars and slow cars, people on the way up and down, with more areas in which to compete."

However, Stevens acknowledged the challenge of identifying specific areas for potential deregulation. "I would certainly be in favor of it but as far as areas where, I don’t know, but I would love competing in any area of the car with the equipment that I would be allowed to," he added. "Selfishly, that is part of the sport that I enjoyed immensely that is kind of gone. I know a lot of talented engineers, racers and fabricators are the same way. I feel like we’re missing that. If they would sprinkle some of that back in, I would certainly enjoy that."

Chris Gayle, crew chief for Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 team at Joe Gibbs Racing, echoed Stevens’ general sentiment, suggesting specific areas for NASCAR’s consideration. "We need to look at some of our underbody stuff," Gayle proposed. "Do we need to sit on the shocks. There are some areas they could open up that wouldn’t cost anything, that might would create opportunities, but it’s so hard to say right now without having a lot of time to think about it."

Rudy Fugle, crew chief for William Byron’s Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 car, expressed a strong preference for increased design freedom, particularly regarding suspension components. "Absolutely, yes, 100 percent in favor of opening some things up," Fugle stated. "There are plenty areas of the car that you could say, ‘whatever you want to do but don’t do this’ and ‘don’t change that’ to make things way more open. Right now, the car and the setup has been developed around the shock limiters, really. That’s how we keep the cars off the track and that’s created the entire setup around that." Fugle believes that such adjustments could be achieved without exorbitant costs, primarily requiring development time. "There are some things I think we could do that wouldn’t be very expensive, in my opinion, it would just take some development. It would be running sim and tinkering — more time than anything else. And that would inspire some of the groups at these race teams too. We have some burnout, going through the year, and we are so limited on what we can change, and with just a little but more opening of the rule book, that could get us excited and it would be fun."

Paul Wolfe, crew chief for the Team Penske No. 22 car, also hadn’t heard O’Donnell’s comments but conveyed a general support for evolutions that foster competition. "Well, I hadn’t heard about that or considered that it would ever be on the radar to open some things back up so I need to put some more thoughts into it to give you better answer," Wolfe said. "But generally, I enjoy change and I think it’s healthy for competition." He elaborated, "When the rule book changes and evolves, it creates opportunity, and creates some separation with teams finding that speed early and then others catching up and surpassing them. I support anything that allows for that kind of competition." Wolfe concluded by noting the current stability of the Next Gen car’s design. "We’ve gone quite a while now with this generation car with things being pretty stagnant. Those of us who have been in the sport a long time enjoy the competition and creativity and I think the racing would definitely benefit from giving teams a chance to make some things happen or find advantages, even if it’s just for a short period of time."

The discussions surrounding the Next Gen car’s specifications highlight a core tension within modern motorsport: the pursuit of cost containment and parity versus the desire for engineering innovation and distinct competitive advantages that can lead to more varied racing outcomes. NASCAR’s willingness to entertain these conversations suggests a proactive approach to ensuring the long-term health and excitement of its premier racing series.