Cup Series drivers and fans have been demanding changes to the short track racing product for a while now. The Next Gen car races terribly on tracks that are a mile or less in length, and various measures are being continually taken to resolve this. Dale Earnhardt Jr. expressed earlier this season that he wants the racing product for superspeedways to be improved as well.
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Superspeedway races have had mixed reviews since the introduction of the Next Gen car. Some critics point out that the experience is largely similar to what it was with the older car, and others feel that the field is too condensed now. The consensus is that there is plenty of room for improvement, particularly concerning low horsepower, which has led to less exciting races.
On the “Bussin’ With The Boys” podcast, Dale Jr. was asked what the one rule he would change in NASCAR would be if given the opportunity. While he did not explicitly mention the reasons, he said, “I wish we could figure out a new package for the Daytona and Talladega racetracks.
“I would probably work on the rules that affect how the cars race at those two places.
“The details of how the cars race and why they do some of the things they do are kind of it’s not as great as it used to be,” Earnhardt Jr. continued. “Or it could be better than what it is today. I don’t know the specific technical thing that needs to change, but I would love to be in the process of how we can make the cars do differently than they do there. How they race together.”
What Cup Series drivers feel about the superspeedway racing product
Denny Hamlin, one of the best drivers on the grid, noted this year that when a driver qualifies in the back in a superspeedway race, and the track gets jammed during the race, there is simply nowhere for him to go. It then becomes a matter of simply executing on pit road. Racing through the field and getting to the front is what these drivers have learned to do all their lives.
A racing method that goes against that developed character has to be questioned. Kyle Larson, on the other hand, has adapted to things better. He said, “I think there’s a lot of strategy that goes into these races now in the Next-Gen era that I do enjoy. Fuel saving, the green-flag pit stops, working together with your teammates and others – I enjoy that.”
That said, Larson does think that there is a particular group of drivers at the front when these races end, and who they are depends on skill and luck. Opinions from other drivers fall in more or less the same categories. While some have adapted to the new way of things, others are pushing for better.
