NASCAR’s Next Gen Cup car is one phenomenon in the sport that has garnered widespread dislike amongst the fraternity. It is common to see drivers and fans bash it for its inability to make passes and limited horsepower every season. But what often goes unnoticed is the superior safety and protection it offers in comparison to its older generations of the Cup Series machines.
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Despite a rocky start when introduced in 2022, the seventh-generation racer has been continuously improved by the governing body, making it one of the safest cars in the sport’s history. Initial reservations and concerns surrounding the stiff rear clip causing driver concussions have largely been taken care of by NASCAR.
Fans seemingly agreed with the sentiment as a battle between Dale Earnhardt and Ernie Irvan at Darlington in 1993 became a hot topic of discussion on X. The drivers had passed and re-passed each other multiple times before Irvan took the lead. The entire sequence was a proper display of fast racing with no limits on the engines.
An account responded to the footage and stated, “Next Gen car just soiled itself watching this.” This comment drew fans to jump to the defense of the current machine. One wrote back, “Haven’t had a death in NASCAR since putting car design at a forefront and would also say those 2 drivers were amazing.”
Larson and Chastain battled like this for damn near 60 laps in Stage 1 at Kansas. So try again
— Cole Henriksen (@101_Race_Media) January 5, 2025
Another added, “No driver has died in next-gen, did in that car.” Earnhardt himself passed away in a racing accident in 2001. However, the bias against the Next Gen car still remains on the grounds of compromised performance standards. This couldn’t be further from the truth.
The Next Gen produced amazing displays of racing in 2024
The 2024 Cup Series season contained several nail-biting racing moments. The Ambetter Health 400 in Atlanta saw Daniel Suarez win by a narrow lead of 0.003 seconds over Ryan Blaney. Another race in May at Kansas Speedway saw Kyle Larson beat Chris Buescher by 0.001 seconds. In Talladega, in the Round of 12, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. beat Brad Keselowski by just 0.006 seconds.
These results aren’t just numbers. They showcase the ability of the Next Gen car to keep fans entertained regardless of the lower power underneath its hood. One fan said with the same in mind, “Next-gen can do that and even better.” However, it is nearly impossible to get every section of the fandom to agree on this subject.
One user who understood this wrote, “They could literally put the same exact cars on the track this season and you guys still bitch about how the racing is “bad” lmao.” One hard conclusion can be drawn from these lines of thought. There can be questions about the performance of the Next Gen car, but not about its safety standard.
All one has to do is look back at the terrible crash Ryan Preece suffered at Daytona in 2023. He walked away largely unharmed. Many such incidents since 2022 prove beyond doubt that drivers are safer on the track now than they’ve historically been.
