“We’ve Continued to Cut Horsepower” – Denny Hamlin Diagnoses NASCAR’s Short-Track Problem

It’s no secret that Denny Hamlin isn’t a fan of NASCAR’s short-track package. And to be fair, he has a valid reason to not be a fan. The racing in general on short tracks in the Next Gen era simply hasn’t been good enough. However, it’s one thing to not be a fan, and it’s the other to not expect any improvements.

And Hamlin is both not a fan, and not expecting the Next Gen short-track woes to go anytime soon. Along with that, the veteran driver-owner isn’t too hopeful about the addition of Iowa to the schedule next season.

Denny Hamlin is not a big fan of horsepower cutting in NASCAR

During a recent press interaction, Hamlin claimed that racing at Iowa won’t be all that different from racing on any other short track that is currently on the schedule “unless something major changes.” Hamlin also called out the cutting down on horsepower front by NASCAR, claiming it’s one of the factors behind the short-track woes.

“We’ve continued to cut horsepower. The grip on the car at short tracks is a byproduct of having wider tires and less horsepower,” he said. “In a cost-cutting measure, we’ve continued to cut horsepower which has led to shifting and it’s led to less power and more grip on the short tracks, which has made the racing bad.”

“We’ve continued to cut horsepower. The grip on the car at short tracks is a byproduct of having wider tires and less horsepower. In a cost cutting measure we’ve continued to cut horsepower, which has led to shifting … and has made the racing bad.” pic.twitter.com/j8FOrtlOm0

— Matt Weaver (@MattWeaverRA) October 5, 2023

So what can be done? How can NASCAR improve the racing on short tracks?

Hamlin proposes solutions to the short-track package problem

As for the solutions, despite him not being so hopeful about the short-track racing at Martinsville up ahead or Iowa next season, Denny Hamlin pointed to the things NASCAR can alter to get to better racing.  He argued that through testing, they’ve now learned that major change for the short-track package won’t come from aero but from the grip or downforce.

“We can fiddle with the car and aerodynamics until we spend all the millions of dollars in our pockets, but it’s not going to change it until you change either the grip or the power under the hood,” Hamlin claimed.

With that said, it’ll be interesting to see how or if NASCAR reacts to the comments from one of their biggest names. One would assume that they should react and fix the short-track package because otherwise it’s going to continue to hurt the sport.