Since its debut in 2022, NASCAR’s Next Gen car sees no relief from the heated debates and controversies around its functioning. Whether it’s the handling, horsepower, or the tire wear, it has mostly been scrutinized than praised. One such important, or rather problematic, element in this list is the Next Gen’s aerodynamics.

The way aerodynamics work is they control the airflow under the vehicle to create downforce, and this reduces the drag on the driver who’s behind, so they can speed up. Ideally, that’s what the car is supposed to do, but not the Next Gen. And who better than Dale Jr to explain why.

Dale Earnhardt Jr breaks down Next Gen’s aero headache

When a driver’s behind another, what the Next Gen does is that it releases its turbulent or dirty air, which disrupts the airflow of the car behind it, messing up the downforce balance for the driver. That’s the thing Dale Jr hates, as he said, “The one thing I do not love about the Next Gen car, is how bad the air is when a car gets behind another car. We saw a couple of moments in that race where they’re all trying to avoid each other’s wake when they go down into a corner. You’re behind a guy down the straightaway and you’re thinking, ‘Is he going low or high, cause I’m doing the opposite.’ That’s the way all of them think as they’re going down the straightaway, ‘I’m going to do the opposite of the guy in front of me.'”

His comments explain how drivers fear the issue so much that it forces them to take such a huge precautionary step of straight up choosing the opposite side of the one in front, so they don’t align in their path and fall prey to the aero trap. His co-host, TJ Majors, added to that anxiety, stating how they, as spotters, too, often give a clearance sign to the drivers when they see two drivers stuck bumper-to-bumper, knowing that they’re about to split and make way.

“But you got to get clean air underneath the center of the car. Sometimes we’ll see, and we saw it in this race, they’ll make the wrong choice and boy they have to jump out of the gas. They go into the corner following the car and they have no grip and they have to jump out of the gas and lose all momentum,” Dale Jr added.

What he’s trying to say is that the main issue lies right at the center of the car. If the following driver is exactly behind the center of the one ahead, he’ll fall victim to the dirty aero and can cause any kind of momentum or balance shift for them. To keep a good grip, drivers try to find clean air by slightly moving to the side, so the air hitting their car is smooth and undisturbed.

If not followed, the consequences can be disastrous, the way Junior pointed a case. “Saw it at Indy with Bubba coming across the nose of Erik Jones, that was a great example of what I do not love about this car. I see that phenomenon with the aero a time or two in each individual race and it grinds my gears.”

During the Indy race, Bubba Wallace drove across the nose of Erik Jones, and he drove so close that he intruded into Jones’s front line, which disrupted Jones’s airflow. This upset his balance, and Jones didn’t just lose his grip but also his front wheel, showing how dangerous being in someone’s wake or getting squeezed like that can be due to Next Gen’s aero.

For now, these aerodynamics continue to challenge drivers, making clean air and smart positioning more crucial than ever on the track. But while the Next Gen’s aero issues are a headache, it looks like there’s at least some comfort coming in, from another aspect of the car.

NASCAR to increase the horsepower?

Since the time Brad Keselowski appeared on the Stacking Pennies podcast and hinted at the horsepower boost by NASCAR, fans haven’t been able to keep calm. On the show, he confirmed about a major horsepower update for 2026, “I am definitely Team Horsepower… It looks like NASCAR is going to change the rules next year to where we’re like 740-750.” 

Managing Director Mike Forde also hinted that changes are coming for 2026, including a potential return to a full-season points championship. “The next step is NASCAR is going to get its leadership in position and really have a discussion and lock ourselves in a room and figure it out from there.” Connect Keselowski’s comments to this, and a horsepower shoot-up doesn’t seem far away now.

On the latest Rubbin’ is Racing podcast, co-host Spider praised NASCAR’s willingness to adapt, “I think it’s great. I think it’s important that NASCAR is willing to make changes…there’s been a lot of rumors recently, whether it be testing higher horsepower, changing the playoff format.” 

Of course, a big reason for this could be NASCAR’s goal to focus on going back more to its roots, catering more to the traditional fans who’ve been long dissatisfied due to a ton of reasons.

While the hints from Keselowski, Forde, and Spider point toward exciting changes in the coming season, ultimately, only time will tell what NASCAR changes and what it doesn’t.