USA Today via Reuters
Apr 23, 2022; Talladega, Alabama, USA; NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers go into turn three during the Ag-Pro 300 at Talladega Superspeedway. Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports
USA Today via Reuters
Apr 23, 2022; Talladega, Alabama, USA; NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers go into turn three during the Ag-Pro 300 at Talladega Superspeedway. Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports
At the moment, 10 NASCAR Cup races are done and dusted in the 2022 season. Admittedly, this does not count the Clash at the Los Angeles Coliseum. So, this gives people plenty of time to assess how the Next Gen Cup Series cars have been holding up. Was the introduction a resounding success, or did it suffer the fate of the infamous Car of Tomorrow? Recently, former NASCAR driver Kyle Petty sat down to answer that very question.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
He said, “We’re seeing some fantastic racing some weeks, and not so fantastic racing in other weeks. We have to be honest, race fans are smart people. You can’t pull the wool over their eyes. You can’t tell them something is great when they’re looking at it, and they know its not.”
WATCH THIS STORY: Best Selling Author Endorsed By Donald Trump Blocked by Bubba Wallace for Dubious Statement
“I think what we’ve gotten into, is we’re seeing some great racing on the mile and a half/two mile race tracks. We saw some great racing at Atlanta, best kind of racing we’ve ever seen. So we’ve seen some good solid racing. Then we hit the short tracks and it kind of went away. I think it kind of went away because of the parity.”
What lies ahead for the NASCAR Cup Series?
So far, the Next Gen cars seem to be fine, with few complaints from the drivers. However, it has been a fair struggle for the teams to adjust to the cars. Especially since NASCAR is strictly policing aspects like spare parts and potential tweaks to the vehicles. Brad Keselowski and Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing found this out the hard way.
Getty
DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 1985: NASCAR driver Kyle Petty stands in the speedway garage prior to the start of the 1985 Daytona 500 stock car race at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Robert Alexander/Getty Images)
As for the racing itself, Petty was correct in his observations that short track racing left much to be desired. However, the Next Gen cars seem to be performing fairly well on the superspeedways and the regular speedways. There was also a bit of difficulty during road course events, but the sport can only improve from there.
