“Our Toyotas are close, but it seems the Blue Ovals have got a little bit of an advantage this year,” Kyle Busch admitted back in 2018, highlighting how even small tweaks in aerodynamics can tip the scales in NASCAR. Ford, Chevrolet, and Toyota are locked in under the same Next Gen rules, yet each manufacturer’s design philosophy is different. Each one, including Toyota, has a weak point.

That edge sharpened further at drafting havens like Daytona and Talladega, where pushing dictates survival and one bump can rewrite the race. Veteran Kevin Harvick, a 2014 champion with 60 Cup victories, has dissected these quirks on his Happy Hour podcast, spotting vulnerabilities that no amount of horsepower can fully mask.

Kevin Harvick pinpoints Toyota’s drafting Achilles’ heel

On a recent episode of Happy Hour with Kevin Harvick, the retired Stewart-Haas driver dove into superspeedway dynamics, revealing a stark truth about manufacturer matchups. “It’s very difficult to push a Toyota because of the way that their cars handle and the way that their tail is shaped. ‘It’s just super easy to spin them out,'” Harvick explained, delivering his seven-word bombshell that underscores Toyota’s vulnerability in high-stakes drafts.

This isn’t mere opinion; it’s rooted in the Next Gen Camry’s symmetrical body and sealed underbody, designed for cleaner airflow but prone to sudden yaw when contact disrupts the rear diffuser’s ground effects.

At Daytona in February 2023, Harvick recalled a vivid example: “I wrecked Tyler Reddick… just breathing on the back bumper spun him out. From a Ford guy’s standpoint, when you’re pushing another Ford, you can be really aggressive in how you push that car compared to when you’re pushing a Toyota; you got to think about what you’re doing.”

Reddick, driving the No. 45 Toyota for 23XI Racing, fishtailed after a minimal nudge from Harvick’s Ford, costing positions in a stage where packs run nose-to-tail at 200 mph. Such incidents trace back to Toyota’s emphasis on smooth, low-drag tails since entering Cup in 2007, prioritizing efficiency over brute push resistance, a trade-off that shines on road courses but falters when allies shove hard.

Denny Hamlin, a Toyota stalwart with Joe Gibbs Racing, has voiced similar frustrations with the broader package, amplifying Harvick’s point on instability. “These cars are just so planted. I can’t tell you enough how much that’s the case, that they’re stuck to the racetrack,” Hamlin told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio earlier this season, urging NASCAR to “unstick them somehow.”

The Next Gen‘s independent rear suspension and 18-inch wheels, rolled out to mimic street cars and cut costs, glue vehicles down for safety but throttle passing, especially for Toyotas, whose precise handling amplifies any aero upset from a rear tap. Hamlin’s win tally, now at 60, stems partly from mastering these traits, yet he admits the design’s double edge: rock-solid solos turn treacherous in traffic.

Parity’s grip tightens the issue, as Hamlin noted: “What we have to understand is that the parity is what is making it so hard to pass… It’s making it so hard to get near each other to crash, which is what some fans are there to see, which is more action. It’s a tough problem.”

Since 2022, identical 358-cubic-inch engines across brands have leveled power, forcing aero battles where Ford’s sharper fender edges channel air for steadier pushes.

Toyota’s subtler dimples aid following in clean air but invite spins in the dirty wake of drafts, as seen in Talladega‘s 2024 spring race, where three Toyotas tangled mid-pack from light contact. Harvick’s insight, drawn from years atop the box, spotlights how these philosophies—Toyota’s sleek precision versus Ford’s robust stability—forge quiet killers on restrictor-plate ovals.

Yet Harvick’s lens extends beyond bodies to the raw thrust under the hood, where tweaks promise subtle shifts in pack battles.

Harvick backs Larson’s take on power surge’s muted roar

NASCAR’s bold leap to 750 horsepower in 2026, up 80 from the current 670, stirred buzz after president Steve O’Donnell’s announcement, aiming to spice up intermediates without ballooning costs. Kyle Larson, fresh off testing the package at Kershaw County Speedway, tempered hype by noting the jump felt underwhelming in real laps, a sentiment Harvick amplified on Happy Hour.

This follows years of driver pleas for more grunt to counter the Next Gen’s glued-down feel, born from 2022’s overhaul that swapped steel bodies for composites to slash team expenses by millions annually. An off-season shakedown at North Wilkesboro will fine-tune aero and brakes alongside the boost, targeting 17 tracks, including a historic opener at San Diego’s Naval Base Coronado.

“I think that listening to the feedback from the drivers, they don’t notice the difference in the power, which, you know, it’s 80 horsepower on paper, right?” Harvick said, nodding to Larson‘s track time, where the added ponies barely registered amid wind resistance. With engines still capped at 358 cubic inches via compacted graphite blocks, the hike demands tweaks like larger intakes to avoid overheating, echoing past restrictor-plate eras where parity dulled edges.

Harvick, who has a solid super-speedway resume, knows firsthand how power alone won’t rewrite drafts; it’s the delivery in traffic that counts, much like the 2019 tapered spacer that juiced outputs to 550 hp at plates without chaos.

“Kudos to them for giving the cars more horsepower. I don’t want to knock it, but I don’t think anybody will notice,” Harvick added, praising the intent while eyeing long-term gains. Pushing past 750 could tack on $40-50 million industry-wide, per NASCAR estimates, so this measured step buys time for potential Honda or Dodge returns.

Larson’s second at Las Vegas and Hamlin’s milestone 60th win previewed how extra torque might aid late charges, yet Harvick warns it’ll blend into the aero parity puzzle. As teams adapt over three years, the real test lies in whether this nudge loosens packs or just fuels the status quo.