NASCAR’s new short-track package debuted last weekend in Phoenix and there were mixed reactions from drivers. As per a lot of the drivers, the car was different to drive but there were still a lot of glaring issues that needed to be solved. One of the ways a lot of those short-track racing issues could be solved is increasing the horsepower, according to Denny Hamlin, and recently, his title rival Kyle Larson shared his thoughts on the matter.

The Hendrick Motorsports man is not as outspoken as the Joe Gibbs Racing driver, but on this matter, he was pretty vocal in a recent episode of The Dale Jr Download podcast. As Dale Earnhardt Jr asked why drivers believe that horsepower would be the answer to a lot of problems, the 2021 Cup Series champion hoped that the organizers would at least test some cars with higher horsepower at some point in his career.

Kyle Larson slams NASCAR’s excuses as he echoes Denny Hamlin’s views

One of the big issues with the Next-Gen car is that it is the heaviest car that NASCAR has ever come up with and that makes it extremely draggy. While that’s not too much of an issue on intermediate tracks or superspeedways, short-track racing has taken a big hit. Pair that up with air blocking and it’s almost impossible to even drive right behind the leader for long periods. The new aero package cuts down on downforce but does nothing to the low horsepower which has angered fans and drivers alike.

Denny Hamlin believes that even a slight increase in horsepower would drastically improve the racing action and it would not even cost anything extra. As a team owner, the 43-year-old knows about the engine expenses and Kyle Larson backed him up on that as he spoke about the pros of increasing horsepower in the Next-Gen cars. The HMS star urged NASCAR to test cars with higher horsepower at short tracks like Richmond and Martinsville.

He said on The Dale Jr Download podcast,“I hope someday in my career that they can at least try it. Just take us to Richmond and go test, go to Martinsville, go test, try it out. I feel like they’ve always used the excuse, or at least I’ve heard, the excuse of well we’re trying to keep horsepower to where other manufacturers might want to come in. Well, as long as I have been in the sport which is 10 years, it’s been the same 3 manufacturers. Maybe somebody else is coming and maybe they’re the ones pushing for lower horsepower but I’ve yet to see anybody new come in. All these engine builders and teams are saying it’s not going to cost any different”.

Larson even said that the engine he used in Las Vegas to win the race was set to be converted into a 1000 hp engine for one of Rick Hendrick’s cars, bringing a chuckle out of Dale Earnhardt Jr. Like a lot of other drivers, the driver of the #5 also believes that the aero package made things slightly better but there’s still a long way to go.

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Despite improvements, former Cup champion not high on aero package

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As a track, Phoenix is notorious for being difficult to pass on and with the Next-Gen being as draggy as it is, that job becomes a lot tougher. The new aero package reduced downforce and allowed cars to slide around on track and maneuver overtakes from the inside lane to the outside on several occasions but that has its risks. Despite some improvements, it was not a real short track and Larson is more interested to see how the package works in Martinsville.

“With the NextGen, everyone’s car is so equal so it’s harder to move forward. I thought you could manipulate the guy in front of you a bit more. I thought, maybe my car was a touch better than before, but I thought I could create angles on entry more to try and set up a position on someone. Yes, it was slightly better but for Phoenix, I don’t know what you can do to get it to look amazing. It is what it is and I guess we’ll see what it is on Martinsville. We’ll see,” the former Cup Series champion said as per Sportsnaut.

It will be intriguing to see how the package works on various tracks, including road courses which has also been an issue with the Next-Gen. Next up is the Bristol dirt race which is a short-track event and all eyes will once again be on the new aero package.

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