NASCAR’s leap from the Gen-6 stock cars to the “Next Gen” platform in 2022 was intended as a bold reinvention. It replaced the piecemeal evolution of Gen-6 with a single-spec chassis, independent rear suspension, sequential transmission, and composite bodies. The new cars run on 18-inch wheels and use 550-670 horsepower, which is restricted at tracks like Talladega and Daytona. These changes made the cars more nimble and aimed to cut costs by standardizing components. Yet handling has fundamentally changed as drivers report that in dirty air, the cars are twitchier and much harder to follow. But fans wonder if the core package itself lost something in the swap.

The growing dissatisfaction is evident from the excitement rates of fans watching the current races. The Athletic‘s Jeff Gluck’s weekly fan poll, “Was it a good race?” illustrates that unease starkly. After peaking at around 71% approval in 2021-22, the share of fans saying “Yes” has slid sharply in recent seasons. By 2023, the average ‘good race’ vote was only 68%, and through 2024, it had sunk to the low 60s, the lowest levels of the modern era. This steady decline in poll scores reflects growing dissatisfaction as more fans are increasingly inclined to label races dull or flawed. That downward slide set the stage for the uproar over Watkins Glen 2025, where fan discontent with the racing boiled to the surface.

The Watkins Glen 2025 pole became a flashpoint. Only 28.1% of fans voted the “Go Bowling at the Glen” Cup race a good one, making it the second-lowest rated road/street course in Gluck’s history. Only the 2022 Charlotte Roval’s 19% was the worst ever recorded. To grasp how stark that is, consider Shane van Gisbergen’s history at Glen: this was his first Cup win at “The Glen,” and it was his fourth consecutive road-course victory of 2025. Yet despite his skills, fans were overwhelmingly unimpressed this time. In fact, earlier Glen races had drawn far higher scores. A prior NASCAR poll showed the 2018 Glen race got 94.3% approval, and even SVG’s 2023 win at the Glen scored about 39.6%. By comparison, the 2025 result was an emphatic thumbs down. So, why is it that a race that would have been celebrated in NASCAR’s heyday instead ranked among the all-time bottom for fan excitement?

Veterans and current drivers have been blunt about what ails the sport. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin has repeatedly warned that NASCAR “traded driver control and tactile feedback for mechanical equality.” He’s bristled that the Next Gen car’s designers aimed for parity instead of excitement, noting, “if everybody runs the same speed, whoever gets out front…wins. That doesn’t produce stars.” Kevin Harvick likewise called out NASCAR after Kyle Busch and Alex Bowman’s concussion crashes, as he tweeted, “Completely unacceptable… I remember Hamlin pleading that the car was too stiff. Data didn’t agree. TIME TO LISTEN TO THE DRIVERS CRASHING THEM!” Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. added that spec parts like the car’s low-profile tires, diffuser, and durable brakes “erased the strategic elements that once made road-course battles thrilling.” 

Many insiders lament that today’s stock cars feel more like machinery than the raw, loose-bodied racers of NASCAR’s golden years. At the root is a swelling frustration among fans. In countless social media posts and forum threads, long-time followers lament that many races now feel scripted. They want unpredictability, daring passes, and the feel of a car on the edge. And now, the fans couldn’t help but raise their voices on these low poll numbers that bear testament to the unrest.

Debate heats up over NASCAR’s competitive balance with the Next Gen

One fan’s opinion maps onto a clear, recurring pattern in NASCAR, “I have a hot take. Every gen the racing gets progressively worse as teams figure out the car. Then when a new gen is rumored or announced fans excited starts to rebound, and then the cycle repeats.” The Next Gen rollout in 2022 was practically a rock-show debut, but as teams decoded setups and aero/wheel/tire behavior became optimized, races tended to settle into more predictable rhythms until the next shiny package re-energized the base. Engineers and racing analysts have since argued that the package’s standardization reduces avenues of mechanical differentiation.

Another fan noted, “Man,. Covid and the new car smell is wearing off right on schedule(3-5 years). Without the two could we have seen a steady decrease from 2016 to today?” During 2020, NASCAR benefited from being one of the first sports back on TV, and outlets at the time credited COVID timing with raising NASCAR’s profile and web traffic. Then, when the Next Gen car debuted, it generated fresh enthusiasm, and a wave of first-time winners created a novelty bump that showed up in fan polls and conversation. Therefore, pandemic exposure and the excitement of a shiny new platform gave NASCAR a short-term jolt, but once the novelty faded, the longer downward pressures reasserted themselves.

One fan reminisced, “Fascinating how 2021 has the highest average on this list. i remember people being exhausted from larson’s dominance and celebrating the end of the gen 6.” Even as Kyle Larson steamrolled the Cup Series in 2021 with 10 wins, 2581 laps led, and a stunning one-race dominance like the Coca-Cola 600, where he led 327 of 400 laps, many fans admitted they were tired of watching the same driver win repeatedly, which created a curious appetite for change. The Next-Gen shook up the predictable outcomes and reset the competitive order completely. But now, fans have grown weary of it, too.

But when tire fall-off and horsepower remove strategic variance, races can feel mechanically flattened rather than tactically rich. One fan pointed out, “Horsepower and option tires. The number of road courses and short tracks are not the issue. This is the most balanced schedule NASCAR has ever had and it’s a good thing. But when the cars are easy too easy drive and the strategy is minimized, the racing suffers.” Take the 2025 experiments with Goodyear’s softer option compound at Martinsville that allowed multi-position charges like Ross Chastain‘s P34 to P10 in 14 laps. Contrast that with Bristol, where tires didn’t fall off as expected, and the Next Gen’s aero and mechanical grip produced long single-file runs and fewer strategic pit calls. Therefore, some factors entirely control what tires and cars can do in changing environments.

Others openly portrayed their discontent, “I’ve been watching NASCAR since 01, but this season is the most disinterested I’ve ever been. I think the glut of road courses this summer and how the new car has ruined the short tracks which were always my favorite has turned me off completely. And I’m so over the playoffs.” Opinion pieces calling for fewer road courses and social threads full of longtime viewers lamenting that the series no longer feels like the NASCAR they grew up with have proliferated this summer. If NASCAR wants to re-energize its core audience, it may need to rekindle the unpredictability that defined its roots. Balancing innovation with the heritage of oval-heavy drama could be the key to restoring long-term fan passion.