NASCAR’s Cup Series Eyes a Shift Away from Strict Standardization in Next Gen Car Era

NASCAR is reportedly exploring a recalibration of its Next Gen car platform, signaling a potential move to reintroduce elements of competition and engineering freedom that have been largely absent since the unified chassis’s inception. The discussion, confirmed by league president Steve O’Donnell, centers on strategically loosening some of the car’s standardized specifications to foster greater innovation and potentially enhance on-track action.

The genesis of the Next Gen car, introduced in 2022, was rooted in a desire for cost containment and a more level playing field across the 36-car Cup Series field. However, four seasons into its tenure, a consensus is emerging among drivers and team personnel that the high degree of standardization, while achieving parity in some respects, has inadvertently curbed the very competition it aimed to enhance.

Chase Elliott, a prominent voice in the Cup Series and the 2020 champion, was an early advocate for caution regarding the extent of spec components. He articulated concerns that a more uniform car inherently limits differentiation, leading to closer speeds and, consequently, more process-driven 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 told 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.”

Related News :

Elliott further contextualized this by noting the evolution of motorsport engineering. “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 challenges, Elliott, who pilots the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, acknowledged the current reality and the imperative for his team to excel 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.”

The conversation around potentially dialing back some of the spec nature of the Next Gen car gained public traction when NASCAR President Steve O’Donnell discussed the matter on the "Dale Jr Download" podcast in October. O’Donnell indicated that NASCAR is not only open to changes but actively considering areas where teams could be allowed to innovate again.

“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. 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 sentiment among a segment of crew chiefs and engineers appears to be one of cautious optimism and a desire to return to an era where technical development played a more significant role in race outcomes. Adam Stevens, crew chief for Christopher Bell’s No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, expressed enthusiasm for the prospect.

“I mean, that’s interesting and I hadn’t heard that OD said that at all,” Stevens remarked. “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 also highlighted the challenge of identifying specific areas for modification. “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 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, echoed this general support, suggesting potential avenues for modification. “We need to look at some of our underbody stuff,” Gayle commented. “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 No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, specifically pointed to the current reliance on shock limiters as a restrictive element. “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 elaborated on the potential benefits of increased flexibility, suggesting it could reignite passion within the teams. “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 bit more opening of the rule book, that could get us excited and it would be fun.”

Paul Wolfe, crew chief for the No. 22 Team Penske Ford, while not having prior knowledge of O’Donnell’s comments, also expressed a longing for the days of greater engineering input. “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.”

Wolfe concluded by reflecting on the current state of development. “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 ongoing dialogue suggests that NASCAR is actively evaluating the long-term implications of the Next Gen car’s design and its impact on the racing product. While specific proposals have not been detailed, the league’s willingness to consider reintroducing controlled areas of competition indicates a commitment to evolving the sport and addressing concerns raised by its participants. The exact nature and extent of any potential changes remain to be seen, but the discussion itself marks a significant moment in the evolution of the Next Gen platform.