NASCAR’s Next Gen Era Faces Scrutiny as Officials Weigh Introducing More Manufacturer and Team-Specific Development

Charlotte, NC – Four years into the widespread adoption of the single-source Next Gen car, NASCAR’s premier Cup Series finds itself at a crossroads, with discussions underway to reintroduce elements of developmental freedom for teams and manufacturers. The current era, designed to reduce costs and level the competitive playing field, has led to a perceived increase in parity, prompting concerns from some within the sport that the rigid specifications may be hindering the very excitement and distinctiveness that has long defined stock car racing.

Chase Elliott, a prominent figure in the Cup Series and a 2020 champion, was among the first to voice apprehension about the potential pitfalls of highly standardized machinery. Even before the Next Gen car debuted, Elliott expressed concerns that an overly restrictive rulebook could stifle the ability for teams to differentiate themselves on track. His reasoning was straightforward: when cars are virtually identical in their fundamental design and performance capabilities, the speed differentials naturally shrink. This can lead to races that become more procedural, with on-track passes becoming a greater challenge, particularly on tracks with a single dominant racing groove.

"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 further elaborated on the evolution of motorsports strategy, noting, "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."

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Despite these observations, NASCAR’s internal data suggests that the Next Gen car has, in fact, led to an increase in on-track passes. This statistical counterpoint complicates the narrative, as the league strives to balance cost containment with the desire for dynamic racing and team innovation.

For Elliott and his Hendrick Motorsports No. 9 team, the current reality necessitates a heightened focus on other strategic elements to gain track position. "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," Elliott 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."

However, the conversation around potentially loosening some of the Next Gen car’s stringent specifications is gaining traction within NASCAR’s leadership. In an October appearance on the "Dale Jr Download" podcast, NASCAR President Steve O’Donnell acknowledged the league’s openness to exploring such changes.

"We’re always open to changes," O’Donnell said. "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 prospect of increased developmental opportunities has been met with a mix of cautious optimism and a desire for clarity from drivers and crew chiefs alike. When asked about O’Donnell’s comments, Elliott expressed a degree of speculative interest, 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, a former Cup Series champion and a prominent team owner, echoed this sentiment. "It’s hard to provide an answer without knowing what exactly they would want to do," he remarked when questioned on the subject.

However, for some crew chiefs, the idea of reintroducing engineering challenges and developmental competition is particularly appealing. Adam Stevens, the crew chief for Christopher Bell and the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 team, expressed enthusiasm for the potential shift.

"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 that identifying specific areas for deregulation would be a complex task. "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," Stevens said. "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 and the No. 11 team at Joe Gibbs Racing, shared a similar perspective. "We need to look at some of our underbody stuff," Gayle suggested. "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 team, expressed a clear preference for more open 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 elaborated on the potential benefits, noting, "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, also indicated support for increased competition and innovation, though he hadn’t previously considered the possibility of deregulation. "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."

Wolfe continued, "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 reflect a continuous effort by NASCAR to refine the Next Gen platform, seeking to balance the goals of cost reduction and competitive parity with the enduring appeal of engineering ingenuity and on-track differentiation that has characterized NASCAR’s rich history. The precise nature and scope of any potential adjustments remain to be determined as the sport navigates this evolving landscape.

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