NASCAR has been sparing no expense to better its Next Gen car. Still a work in progress, the seventh iteration of NASCAR’s Cup Series car has been a highly debated topic, owing to its ongoing struggles with the short-track package. Having earlier made tweaks to the rear spoiler and the underbody of the Next Gen car to better its performance on the short tracks, NASCAR faced the wrath of unappeased drivers.

Fabricating a new aero package, NASCAR held a two-day test at  Richmond Raceway with six participating drivers. Among the group of drivers partaking in NASCAR’s test was Hendrick Motorsports star William Byron. Purportedly disappointed in the outcome at Richmond, Byron has slammed NASCAR while admitting inferiority to Joe Gibbs’s team.

“It’s just tough”: William Byron makes a painful admission

When the shorter rear spoiler and underbody tweaks failed to generate the desired results, NASCAR turned its attention to the front facia of the Next Gen car. Conducting thorough tests at its R&D facility, NASCAR fabricated a new front splitter (unofficially labeled as the up/down splitter) in a bid to make up for the Next Gen car’s poor short-track performance.

Experiencing a lack of grip at the Richmond test, William Byron had earlier called out NASCAR for wasting precious time. Now in preparation for the FireKeepers Casino 400 Cup Series race at Michigan, the #24 HMS star had a lot to say about NASCAR’s test run.

Displaying a lack of optimism in NASCAR’s new short-track package, William Byron in an interview with Frontstretch’s Stephen Stumpf said, “I’m all for making it better. I just think the variation in the car speed is so little that it really comes down to track position. You know, there’s just not enough difference between guys that, even at the test like, we were just all matching similar lap times by ourselves, and then we got in a group and it was obviously tough to, you know, make moves.”

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Admitting inferiority to Joe Gibbs’s team, the HMS star further added, “I think the #20 (Christopher Bell) was able to make some passes, but yeah, it’s just tough with not much variation between the speeds.”

As William Byron made the painful admission regarding JGR, his HMS teammate, Chase Elliott too had similar thoughts.

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Chase Elliott’s biggest roadblock, that is, Joe Gibbs Racing

Unable to make the playoff cut, Chase Elliott has been battling poor performance throughout the 2023 season. Looking to turn his luck around at Michigan, the #9 HMS driver qualified in the 10th spot. With only four races remaining in the Cup Series regular season, Elliott feels his biggest roadblock in securing a win is the Joe Gibbs Racing team.

In a pre-race presser at the Michigan International Speedway Elliott said, “I am just trying to think back to last year and it seems like all the Gibbs cars were really strong here last year as a whole. I think at some tracks, the characteristics here might carry forward and I am not sure that all of them necessarily are that way.”

Can the Hendrick Motorsports star overcome their Joe Gibbs Racing counterparts? With just hours remaining before the race, it won’t be long before fans get to know who’s who in Michigan. 

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