NASCAR’s Next Gen has been a divisive car from the start. Be it the racing product it produced, or the safety issues it caused, it hasn’t been all there. And even now, despite a host of important changes, it has led to Ryan Blaney and Denny Hamlin standing against each other ahead of Darlington.

Ryan Blaney believes NASCAR is heading in the right direction

“I think we’re inching our way in the right direction. More horsepower, less downforce at certain tracks. I think it’s gonna be a lot of fall off, a lot of comers and goers. And that’s what it should be about. And I think Darlington is gonna get a lot of that,” he claimed.

Unlike many NASCAR tracks, Darlington lives up to its nickname, ‘Too Tough to Tame.’ The racetrack is notorious for its tarmac and what it does to the tires. That is the default.

For this season’s race, NASCAR decided to make a few changes. The car would be running a high horsepower package, a bump from 670 to 750. Aerodynamics also see a change with the car running a package similar to one used on short tracks.

These factors led Denny Hamlin to state that on Sunday at Darlington, there could be carnage on track. “These cars, with essentially little to no underbody because we’re now going to the short track aerodynamic package for Darlington, these cars are out of control,” he said.

However, instead of being daunted by the impact of the changes to the car, Ryan Blaney had a different view of it. He claimed that with the simple floor, small spoiler, and more horsepower, the race could be an ‘awesome one.’

It’s worth mentioning that in his 18 starts at Darlington, Ryan Blaney has just one top-5 finish, which came in last season’s April race. In fact, Blaney has never truly found his groove at the iconic track, something which could change this Sunday, considering the changes to the car and his own attitude heading into the race.

Christopher Bell is just as excited as Blaney for Darlington

While Ryan Blaney expressed an optimistic view of Sunday’s race at Darlington, drivers like Brad Keselowski’s opinion was more in line with Hamlin’s. The RFK Racing driver worried that it’d be difficult to do even 35 laps on one set of tires at Darlington this Sunday because of the aero and power.

“Darlington is going to be a heavy lift. It’s always a heavy lift, but it’s a heavier lift now, I think, with these circumstances and a lot of unknowns entering the race at Darlington,” Keselowski claimed as per Motorsport.

But despite the factors that could make the race difficult, Christopher Bell was another driver, like Blaney, who was excited by the potential of something new. He predicted Darlington to be a ‘very, very, very, different’ race than any other in the Next Gen era before.

With that said, it’ll be interesting to see how the race on Sunday turns out. Whether there’s mayhem on track, which drivers who are daunted are predicting, or whether the racing product is unlike anything fans have seen before, the race is going to be an exciting one.