Kevin Harvick is done sugarcoating his words. After five full seasons of racing, the veteran is still asking NASCAR to make improvements to the Next Gen Cup car, as have other drivers in the past, and that is unacceptable, to say the least.
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“Fix the Cup car. That’s what you’ve got to concentrate on. And there’s going to be decisions that you’re going to have to make that are going to piss some people off. It’s like putting more power in the car. Just put some more power in the damn car. And they’ve slowly crept it in there. Quit dicking around with putting a little bit in; put a lot in. Just make it violent and crazy to watch,” exclaimed Harvick on the Harvick Happy Hour Podcast, a clip of which was posted on X.
The seventh-generation Cup Series machine, better known as the ‘Next-Gen’ car, was one of NASCAR’s most radical departures from what a stock car should look like. With 18-inch wheels and single lug nuts, the concept flipped what a stock car was known for since its inception, among various other drastic changes.
Early Next-Gen issues surfaced in the form of driver safety. The car was deemed unsafe and too rigid in the case of a rear impact. The reason for the car’s rigidity was to aid contact on the track, which, instead of making the cars tougher, started transferring heavy G-forces to the drivers, resulting in concussions.
One of the biggest examples of this came after Kurt Busch’s Pocono qualifying crash in 2022. Busch suffered a concussion as he backed his car into the outside wall at the track and was never cleared to race again in the sport. The Next-Gen car’s rigidity, by all means, cut his career short.
Another point of contention around the package has been the issue with loose wheels on track. After going from the standard five-lug design to a more modern single lug nut to hold each wheel, teams initially struggled to adapt. Pit crews were seen making frequent mistakes, and as a result, wheels started to come off cars on the track.
The car’s ability to generate exciting racing has been one of the, if not the most contentious part of Next-Gen’s existence. Drivers have often complained of difficulty in passing and lack of horsepower, and continue to do so to this day.
“They designed a car that just has so much drag in it. The racing was different; handling played a factor, but it’s not like it used to be. You can’t take any more spoiler off this thing. It’s a sports car not meant to be running 200mph,” said Denny Hamlin after Talladega back in October.
That notion certainly does not come from Hamlin alone. Harvick agrees with the Joe Gibbs Racing veteran. “It’s a sports car. That’s not designed to race on an oval. I don’t want to be the jerk, but those are the facts,” he added in the same clip.
NASCAR, over the course of five years, has tried to address the safety issues with the package, with significant changes that have made a difference. The car has received a host of updates, such as softened rear and front impact structures that help protect drivers. Flaps on the A-pillar of the car have also been introduced to reduce the chances of a flip in the case of high-speed spins on track.
More power was also introduced this year, with the number jumping from 670 to 750 HP for road courses and tracks shorter than 1.5 miles. However, the changes for Harvick are too little, too late.
“Worry about the Cup car. Don’t worry about screwing up the other two. Like, just stop worrying about trying to make that better. It is what it is. It’s good. For the time being. The racing is good. Leave them alone,” added the 2014 Cup champion, urging NASCAR to stop worrying about the O’Reilly and Truck Series.
NASCAR does not have a quick fix on its hands. The business of racing and the time and development money sunk into the Next-Gen product leave the top brass with no choice but to continue with the package and try their best to refine it.
Feedback from drivers and fans matters most in such a scenario. The fraternity as a whole also needs to understand that now the concept has been in place for five years; there is no going back to a previous generation of car, but only improvements of the current one.
And the first thing that NASCAR needs to do, certainly according to Kevin Harvick, is to give the thing more power.