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NASCAR’s pursuit of an optimized short track racing product for the 2026 season has officially commenced this week with a two-day tire testing session at an undisclosed location. The intensive on-track activity, scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, will see Goodyear engineers working in collaboration with select NASCAR Cup Series teams to refine tire compounds. This initiative aims to address the significant variations in racing dynamics observed on short tracks in recent seasons, ranging from traditional racing scenarios to periods of extreme tire wear.
The volatility in tire performance is largely attributed to ambient temperature fluctuations. Cooler weather conditions have been identified as a primary factor influencing how rubber adheres to the track surface. This phenomenon was particularly evident in the spring 2024 and fall 2025 race weekends, where tire sets, under judicious management, could only sustain competitive performance for approximately 30 to 50 laps. While these instances generated considerable speed differentials and increased on-track contact, which were met with positive reception by some observers, the prevailing sentiment within the sport is the desire for a more consistent and less weather-dependent racing product. The overarching objective of this testing is to discover a balance that promotes engaging racing without the unpredictable extremes.
Competition officials have articulated that a key aim of this test is to establish a tire setup that encourages a degree of tire fall-off, thereby emphasizing strategic tire management by drivers. However, this must be achieved without the excessive degradation witnessed in recent Cup Series short track events. A parallel critical goal is to develop tire compounds that are less sensitive to temperature variations, ensuring consistent performance regardless of shifts in track conditions.
The dedicated testing effort involves a curated selection of drivers and teams representing the sport’s premier manufacturers. Participating in this crucial evaluation are:
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- No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota, with driver Bubba Wallace.
- No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, with driver Alex Bowman.
- No. 60 RFK Racing Ford, with driver Ryan Preece.
This testing period also marks a significant milestone as it will be the first instance of the short track package being equipped with the 750 horsepower tapered spacer. This represents a notable increase from the current 670 horsepower target, aligning with new regulations slated for the Next Gen car in the upcoming season.
Following this initial short track test, NASCAR and Goodyear are scheduled to conduct further evaluations at North Wilkesboro Speedway. This subsequent session will also serve as a platform for NASCAR to explore potential technical adjustments to the car, with the continuous improvement of short track racing as the ultimate objective.
Since its debut in 2022, the Next Gen car initially demonstrated significant improvements in racing on intermediate tracks. However, this enhancement came at the cost of performance on flatter short tracks and road courses, particularly in areas where a single racing line was predominantly utilized. This was largely due to the aerodynamic sensitivity of the trailing car in pack racing scenarios.
NASCAR President Steve O’Donnell acknowledged last month the organization’s openness to exploring additional avenues for improvement beyond the horsepower increase. He indicated a collaborative approach involving drivers and manufacturers to identify potential enhancements. "I think what you’ll see us do is, we got the drivers, with the counsel from Christopher Bell and others, Joey Logano, talking about, ‘Hey! Let’s try some of these things.’ Working with 3 of the OEM manufacturers and crew chiefs or Heads of Competition. Putting some ideas together, going and trying it at North Wilkesboro and see what happens," O’Donnell stated.
Christopher Bell, a prominent voice in driver feedback, has expressed that the Cup Series cars need to exhibit handling characteristics closer to those of the Xfinity Series machines. "I think they need to get the Cup aero map to match the Xfinity Series cars," Bell commented to Motorsport.com. "That would be the best case scenario, to get the Cup cars to react like the Xfinity cars. I was a big advocate of going back to narrower tires, but after all the work Goodyear has put in this year, the cars are sliding around a lot now. We go to road courses and short tracks, and I can promise you, it is slippery. At Martinsville, and the Charlotte Road Course, we are sliding the car around a lot and are overpowered with the current horsepower."
Bell further elaborated on the visual and dynamic differences, noting, "I don’t know if it’s aero or mechanical, but I think it’s aero because we drive the car in yaw like the Xfinity cars can and I think that’s a big part of the eye test — the way the Xfinity guys look like they are hustling the cars. Cup cars, even though we are close to out of control, it doesn’t look like it on TV. I would love to get us closer to the Xfinity car.”
A key aerodynamic distinction cited is the typical car attitude: the Xfinity car tends to be nose-down and tail-up, while the Cup car generates its downforce from the rear via its diffuser, resulting in a tail-down, nose-up posture. Bell identifies this as a significant impediment. When questioned about solutions, he admitted, "I don’t know," with a laugh. "We need to find a way to optimize with that too. Like, NASCAR can’t tell us ‘drop the nose and raise the tail’ because that’s not how this car is optimal. We’ll always evolve back to nose up and tail down attitude because that’s how the car was designed. It’s worse in traffic. This is why we can’t get the car in front of us loose. This hurts passing. We need to optimize the car with the nose down and the tail up, and whatever gets us there, that’s what we need to do.”
Beyond tire and aerodynamic considerations, NASCAR will also be evaluating new electronic components for the upcoming season. This includes testing the McLaren TAG-510, a new Electric Control Unit and Data Logger.
When asked about his specific desires for the testing, Brad Keselowski emphasized the need for clarity on NASCAR’s objectives. "You have to be more specific for me to have a strong opinion but I know the ECU is a big part of that test and getting that right," Keselowski commented. "There are a lot of things that those tests will be important for.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr. has previously advocated for a more significant overhaul of the Next Gen car’s short track configuration, suggesting a stripped-down approach.
From the crew chief’s perspective, achieving the handling characteristics desired by drivers like Bell presents a complex challenge. Adam Stevens, crew chief for Bell, expressed uncertainty regarding the specific technical solutions. "I think everyone has a handle on what they want to happen but I don’t think anybody has a handle on what it’s going to take, aerodynamically to make that happen," Stevens stated. "I would certainly put myself in that category. We all want the trailing car to not be at such a disadvantage to the leading car. How to make that happen, I have not put any time or study into that. I can tell you the people that have taken the time to over the years, haven’t had much success anyway so I can’t tell you what widget we need to try either. If anyone knows what that widget is, it isn’t me.”
Rudy Fugle, crew chief for William Byron, voiced concerns that any significant aerodynamic modifications could prove to be a costly undertaking. "My opinion on the aero side of it is pretty complex," Fugle explained. "With the way the underbody and the way the splitter is and the way the air flows to the louvers, I think it would be pretty expensive to do some of this stuff. I haven’t heard of any of their plans to be honest with you … but there are definitely some things that I think could help but they are pretty large-scale things in my opinion. It would have to be a redesign of some things. There are some smarter aerodynamicists out there than me. I’m not one at all, so definitely smarter than me. Maybe they’re getting somewhere that I don’t know about.”
Chris Gayle, another crew chief, suggested a focus on adjustments to the suspension and the potential removal of elements from the sealed underbody as areas for exploration.
Despite the inherent complexities, there is a palpable sense of anticipation within the garage regarding the incremental progress being made, particularly with the planned horsepower increase. Paul Wolfe, crew chief for Joey Logano, believes that while the horsepower adjustment alone may not be transformative, its combination with advancements from Goodyear and potential aerodynamic tweaks could yield significant cumulative benefits.
Wolfe elaborated, "The horsepower thing has been on the radar for a while. I’m excited for the direction. That’s good. I’m not aware of any of the aero stuff that’s been talked about. We’re already on two different packages when it comes to mile and a half versus short track. We’ve run both packages on short tracks. It’s hard to say anything has been a big more mover on the aero side but with all this being said, we need to keep in mind that not one change is going to be huge, it’s about stacking little changes here and there to make the racing better. I saw where some guys said ‘were not going to see anything out of the 750’ but is it going to be night and day, no, but when it comes to managing and using your tires, those things, adding horsepower isn’t going to make it worse. It’s going to make the wear worse, which is where we’re trying to go.”
Wolfe concluded by emphasizing the strategy of accumulating small improvements to enhance the overall entertainment value of the races, drawing a parallel to how teams constantly seek incremental speed gains. "I’m excited to see the 750 package and I don’t think it’s going to be worse, and it should directionally make things better," Wolfe affirmed. "We’ve done some good things with tires this year. Goodyear has pushed the boundary there. We’ve seen good results there and I’m excited to continue down that path. This is a tough one, and I don’t know that we as a sport are always going to knock it out of the park there, but it will continue to evolve and we’ve gone in the right directions and I’m excited to continue down that path as well.”
NASCAR has indicated that the specific parameters and scope of the North Wilkesboro test, including the exact elements to be examined and the number of participants, are still under determination.
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