For once, a major gamble from NASCAR seems to be fitting well with the drivers and the fans, but Ricky Stenhouse Jr’s comments on the upcoming race at Darlington make it sound like it could be the real test. He isn’t getting carried away just yet, pointing to the race as a true test of whether the added horsepower consistently delivers.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s expectations from Darlington

“NASCAR pulls the trigger, and we have less downforce, more horsepower at all the racetracks we go to. I think that’s the kind of outcome I would like out of Darlington,” he said while speaking to Jeff Gluck. So far, the increased horsepower from 680 to 750 has resulted in more tire wear, unpredictable racing, and an overall shift in team strategies. This is exactly what Stenhouse expects from the race at Darlington.

But considering this track sits at just the right limit, with a 25° banking on turns 1 and 2, it could prove to be the actual test for his higher horsepower. More power means more speed on the straights, and the drivers will be forced to brake before entering the turns, as opposed to the flat-out turns they were taking up until last year.

“The experience that I’ve had in these race cars is when we get the horsepower up, the straightaway speeds up, but then you have to slow down for the corner. [It] creates better racing. So, I’m hoping that’s what comes out of it,” Stenhouse Jr. added.

Of course, tire wear is also a major aspect that comes with more horsepower. But Ricky Stenhouse Jr. feels that it wouldn’t be the determining factor for this particular race, in terms of just how good the racing is. The same trend was observed at Phoenix and Las Vegas, so unless Darlington adds another factor to it, then only it can be determined that NASCAR’s gamble with the higher horsepower is beneficial.

While it still seems to be in the testing phase, there are a few established personalities who have spoken positively about it. In fact, a former Cup Series champion wants NASCAR to continue with the trend and increase the horsepower even more to make the races interesting.

NASCAR veteran asks for more horsepower

“At Phoenix, we’re talking 60-70 horsepower. Imagine if it were 200,” while it might seem that Kevin Harvick was making the most of his free speech on his namesake podcast with this statement, he was quite serious about it. He feels that increasing the horsepower further, beyond the 750hp threshold, could make up for some more challenging and exciting racing:

“It’s got to be something that we work towards. And I know we’ve taken a good step, and it’s produced what everybody thought it was going to produce, which is a better product.”

Moreover, he predicted a similar situation for the race at Darlington, claiming that the crews would have a more important job because the tires would fade faster.

“I think it could put the crews in a really curious spot as to when you put tires on and when you don’t with the tire allotment that they have. So, managing your tires and when you put them on the car could become an issue,” he added.

While increasing the power in cars further could potentially amp up the racing experience, it could also prove to be more dangerous. Even the smallest mistakes on short tracks like Darlington or even the Phoenix Raceway could mean more cars being sent into the wall. Moreover, it wouldn’t make up for a lot of green flag racing.

NASCAR seems to have hit the sweet spot currently with 750 hp. Drivers like Ricky Stenhouse Jr. seem to be optimistic about it, but as he suggested, the real test will be down at Darlington later this week.