Ever since NASCAR rolled out the Next-Gen race car, ex-drivers, veterans and even experts have raised questions regarding the platform’s glaring shortcomings. There’s a reason why NASCAR is constantly tweaking the packages, be it short-track or superspeedways. But at the core, one thing that keeps getting highlighted about the car is its aero-dependent nature. 

Veteran driver Tony Stewart, who’s been a vocal critic, couldn’t help but draw parallels to how racing used to be different back in the mid-2000s. 

“You’re taking a line away because the cars are so aero-sensitive and so aero-dependent. The drivers used to make the difference; the driver, at the end of the day used to take what they had and change what they did with their hands and feet and manipulate the car. The last couple of years I drove, you could not do that,” Stewart explained on the Door Bumper Clear podcast. 

The Next-Gen car features a carbon-fiber body with a packed underbody design. The rear diffuser is another addition that creates massive downforce. Unlike the previous generations of the race cars, the Next Gen platform creates grip through the flow of aerodynamics. And this, in turn, has changed the culture in how teams set up their cars for Sundays. But how did NASCAR reach ‌this point, where a driver is no longer the difference maker despite piloting the car? 

“And I’m going to circle back, that is when the 20 of us drivers went in there. That was the stuff that we talked about. And it just fell on deaf ears, and here we are 20 plus years later and they’re fighting the same thing. And they are worse now than it was then,” Stewart’s response circled back to the meeting that happened between 2013 and 2015.

20 some race car drivers sat down with NASCAR, explaining how the sport needed to move away from aero-dependent race cars, along with suggestions to improve the on-track product. Their idea was simple: give the control back into the hands of drivers rather than race engineers and simulations. But Gene Stefanyshyn, NASCAR’s Vice President of Innovation and Racing Development at the time, turned a deaf ear to the plan. 

Stewart lost his cool when Stefanyshyn stated their data showed the opposite of what drivers were arguing against. The 3-time champion had made up his mind back then; he was done racing in NASCAR and was looking for an exit. “When I walked out of there, that was the day that I decided I was working on my retirement plan and that I was getting out of the sport.”

Back then they didn’t even have the Next Gen car, but the aero-heavy design of the race car has taken the control away from the drivers. Track position is the king in the modern era, and defense is the preferred tactic within the garage as aero-blocking has become the norm on the racetracks. 

Not to forget, the single-source partsdon’tt allow manufacturers to make any distinct changes to their cars. The only area that OEMs truly can make speed is the body, and that process has been dominated by race engineers, tacticians, and simulators. Credit to NASCAR that they’ve opened themselves up to feedback and are rolling out changes to head in the right direction. 

Increased horsepower, new Goodyear tire compounds, reduced spoiler sizes on speedways — they are trying to experiment with different components. However, these changes are band-aid fixes like a lot of NASCAR fans like to call them, and unless and until the body design undergoes major changes, the current trend of racing is likely to continue.