NASCAR Eyes Evolution of Next Gen Car: A Shift Towards Greater Team Ingenuity Under Consideration

Four years into its implementation, the Next Gen car platform in the NASCAR Cup Series is prompting discussions within the industry about potentially dialing back some of its standardized specifications. This introspection, driven by a desire to foster greater team innovation and potentially enhance on-track competition, has been a recurring theme, with drivers and crew chiefs voicing their perspectives on the current state of affairs and future possibilities.

The genesis of the Next Gen car was rooted in objectives to reduce costs for teams, provide a more standardized chassis, and level the competitive playing field. However, a notable consequence of increased standardization, as observed in previous eras of NASCAR, is the potential for cars to become more homogenous in performance. Chase Elliott, a prominent driver in the Cup Series, articulated this concern even before the Next Gen car’s debut, suggesting that a tightly controlled rulebook could inadvertently limit the opportunities for creative engineering and strategic differentiation among teams.

"We’ve talked about this before, but for sure, the more we’re the same, the harder it is to be different," Elliott recently told Motorsport.com. He elaborated on the challenges this presents, particularly on tracks with a single racing groove. "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 pointed to the general advancement of motorsports technology and engineering acumen over the years. "And some of it, this is just motorsports in general, people getting smarter over the years, right, in terms of aerodynamics and how to tune these cars. Go back 20 years ago, and the sport was still finding out how some of these knobs and levers worked, and now we have."

Despite these observations, NASCAR’s internal data reportedly indicates an increase in passing opportunities with the Next Gen car. However, the qualitative aspect of that passing and the ability for teams to actively engineer distinct performance advantages remain central to the ongoing dialogue. Elliott, while acknowledging the current reality, stated that his team at Hendrick Motorsports focuses on excelling within the existing framework. "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 said. "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."

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NASCAR’s leadership has acknowledged these sentiments and indicated an openness to exploring avenues that could reintroduce more team-driven development. League president Steve O’Donnell, in a recent appearance on the Dale Jr Download podcast, suggested that the sanctioning body is considering areas where teams could once again contribute to the car’s design and performance differentiation, within a controlled cost structure.

"We’re always open to changes," O’Donnell stated. "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." He further elaborated on the strategy: "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 some of the Next Gen car’s standardized components has elicited varied but largely positive responses from team personnel, though specific proposals remain undefined. When asked about the possibility, Elliott expressed 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." Brad Keselowski echoed this sentiment, emphasizing the need for concrete details: "It’s hard to provide an answer without knowing what exactly they would want to do."

However, crew chiefs appear more enthusiastic about the potential for renewed innovation. Adam Stevens, crew chief for Christopher Bell and the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 team, voiced strong support for the idea. "I mean, that’s interesting and I hadn’t heard that OD said that at all," Stevens commented. "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."

Stevens acknowledged the immediate challenge of identifying which specific areas of the car could be opened up for development without jeopardizing the cost-saving and safety objectives of the Next Gen platform. "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."

His teammate, Chris Gayle, crew chief for Denny Hamlin and the No. 11 team, also expressed general optimism, suggesting potential areas for 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 the Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 team, shared a similar perspective, specifically highlighting areas where current limitations might be hindering development. "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 targeted adjustments could re-energize the engineering side of the sport. "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 team, while not having prior knowledge of O’Donnell’s comments, also articulated a longing for greater creative freedom. "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. 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. 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 suggest a potential pivot in NASCAR’s approach, moving from a singular focus on cost containment and standardization towards a more balanced strategy that incorporates team innovation and engineering prowess, provided it can be managed within a sustainable financial framework. The specific details of any proposed changes remain to be seen, but the conversation indicates a willingness within NASCAR to adapt the Next Gen platform to further enhance the sport’s competitive dynamics.