NASCAR drivers and fans have been calling for a horsepower increase in the Next Gen car for several years. After changes this season seemed to be under consideration, there’s a new timeline for when the sport might finally deliver what everyone has called for.
During an appearance this week on Sirius XM NASCAR, senior vice president of competition Elton Sawyer said he believes a horsepower increase for the Next Gen car is the “right move” for the Cup Series. However, any increase won’t come until 2026 at the earliest.
Back in May, Sawyer said that increasing horsepower in the car was very much “on the table” as it had significant support around the sport. Soon after, the managing director of communications Mike Forde said on the “Hauler Talk” podcast that an increase could come this season.
Teams have made it clear that they’d be able to increase horsepower without having to make major overhauls and drivers even told NASCAR officials before the Next Gen car was introduced that horsepower needed to be higher. However, it took prolonged negotiations with the sport just to get the limit into the 650-670 range.
Sawyer stated during his interview this week that the horsepower increase would only be for certain short tracks and NASCAR officials haven’t decided what race tracks those would be. He also noted there are “intricacies involved” in determining which places qualify as a short track.
Unfortunately, this seems to be the only major change NASCAR is considering for 2026 and it still isn’t expected to be enough to significantly improve the quality of the racing. A slight horsepower increase to 750 won’t fix aeroblocking, nor will it address the issues with tire wear.
While it’s a small step in the right direction, the consensus in the garage remains that the racing quality won’t improve until real changes are made to the car that cut down on aero blocking and create a bigger difference between the cars on the track.
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