When Tyler Reddick rolled into the Charlotte Roval, he knew that the No. 45 Toyota had to win. It was 29 points below the cutline, and this was his final chance to break into the Round of 8. So Billy Scott, Reddick’s crew chief, prepared with an aggressive car set-up and pitted midway through the opening 25-lap stint. Sadly, none of the strategies fell in place for the polesitter. That was due to the Goodyear tires. And race winner Shane van Gisbergen also dealt with them.

The Kiwi speedster was eliminated from the playoffs after the Round of 16. And yet Shane van Gisbergen roared back at the Roval, clinching a five-win streak on consecutive road courses. He finished 15 seconds ahead of his nearest rival. Yet despite this dominance, SVG recently divulged a point of difficulty.

Shane van Gisbergen tones down Goodyear’s impact

Ever since the tire management Bristol race in spring 2024, NASCAR has relied on Goodyear. The brand’s heavily worn tires acted as band-aids for the Next-Gen car’s monotonous racing. However, the 2025 Bank of America Roval race did not look so promising. Teams saw a lap-time fall-off of roughly four seconds over the course of the tire life. And this dramatic slowdown shuffled previously laid strategies wildly. Some teams chose to pit twice during the final stage, and some opted for three stops. Who chose what was dependent on car strength and track position, in which Shane van Gisbergen emerged most powerful.

Nevertheless, the Trackhouse Racing star highlighted the difficulty of having drastic tire wear. In a recent Dale Jr Download episode, Shane van Gisbergen said that too much attention went into the tires. “You don’t want to make it too much of a tire conservation where everyone’s just, you know, moping around at half speed trying to save tires,” he said. “I think the amount of tires we had and how much falloff there was. There was two stoppers, three stoppers, and stuff like that. I think that keeps it interesting.” He added, “Yeah, it’s funny. You know, you’re driving and we’d start a stint doing a 28 128, you know. And you could do a 26 if you wanted, but you’d be in the 30s pretty quick.”

Nevertheless, SVG beat his rivals. The two biggest competitors whom Shane van Gisbergen faced were Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell. And both of them fought a long battle with tires. The Kiwi continued, “I felt like you could still push and make moves. At the start of stage three, those guys went way harder and passed me, and then they paid for the price for it later.”

Adam Stevens, crew chief of Bell’s No. 20 Toyota, said the tire falloff “certainly us off guard.” He also observed how the tires could have lasted if teams had been allowed more flexibility in car setups. “Most of the setup decisions are made before you leave for the track. And the car’s impounded after inspection, and the list of things you can change is pretty small. So if you feel like you’re way off, there’s just not a lot you can do to remedy it.”

Evidently, the tire wear presented challenges to most teams at the Roval. But the Next-Gen car’s challenges are greater – and Dale Jr. wanted a clear-cut solution.

Dale Jr. is not satisfied

NASCAR recently rolled out a heartwarming piece of news for fans. It will raise the horsepower from 670 to 750 for short tracks and road courses in the Cup Series in 2026. This comes after long, drawn-out demands on the part of fans and drivers to increase the horsepower and thus improve the racing. The new change is similar to the final years of the previous generation of cars. They had utilized a 550-horsepower package on intermediate tracks and a 750-horsepower package on short tracks and road courses. However, Dale Jr. is not satisfied.

In order to get rid of the Next-Gen car’s faults, he boldly demanded tearing apart the car. Teams used to get really creative in trying to maximize downforce beneath their cars. But in the interest of parity, NASCAR sealed the underbody of the Next-Gen. So Dale Jr. suggested, “The underbody and all of that stuff. I would really tear this car apart and strip it down, get rid of some shit. I would not touch it in its current form for the mile-and-a-half and stuff.” He continued that he wants to strip it of the rear diffuser as well. “But for the car I’m gonna take to Martinsville, it would be like the unplugged version instead of the full band…You don’t need all that shit. It’d be so basic and dull, you’d beat the shit out of it.”

Clearly, problems exist both in the Next-Gen car’s body and Goodyear’s tires. Hopefully, the following season can be an upgrade from the 2025 challenges.