Maybe you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing’s Chris Buescher believes that the Next Generation/Gen 7 car that NASCAR introduced into the Cup Series in 2022 has some distinct disadvantages – particularly in the performance of veteran drivers such as teammate Brad Keselowski as well as Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch.
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“It’s more just like the now gen (now generation), it’s not really the Next Gen,” Buescher said recently. “It’s not really the next gen, right? … To me it’s helped your younger generation come in.”
“[But] it’s hurt your veterans more than some others, especially ones that weren’t able to adapt to the different style racing. I think a lot of that comes down to the fact that they’re just durable,” Buescher added.
“Without metal bodies you wait up against the fence, there’s no penalty for that. So that becomes the line. A lot of places you turn into bumper cars on restarts. There’s finesse that has had to go away to be competitive and it’s always go. So to me, that’s what’s created the little bit of shift.”
The Numbers Back Up Buescher’s Analogy
Looking at the numbers, particularly for both Busch and Keselowski, Buescher’s theory is proven correct for the most part.
In the 10 years from 2012 through 2021, when the Generation 6 car was used in Cup, Busch won two championships (2015 and 2019) and had three other seasons where he finished between runner-up and fourth. All told, in those 10 years, Busch finished worse than 10th place only once in a single season, placing 13th in 2012.
But since the Gen 7 car came into play in 2022, Busch has struggled like he never has in his Cup career, finishing 13th and 14th in 2022 and 2023, and then missing the playoffs entirely both last year and this year.
The 40-year-old Busch is also in the midst of the worst winless streak of his career. He comes into this weekend’s race in his hometown of Las Vegas having not visited victory lane in the last 89 races, dating back to 2023.
Then there’s the 41-year-old Keselowski, whose stats also give credence to what Buescher, his teammate, says. In the prior Gen 6 car from 2012 through 2021, Keselowski won the 2012 Cup championship, was runner-up in 2017, and made the playoffs each of those 10 years.
In the five years from 2017 through 2021, Keselowski also managed to reach the semifinal Round of Eight or the Championship 4 finale each season. He also averaged three or more wins in four of those five seasons.
But since the Gen 7 car came about in 2022, Keselowski has earned just one win in 2024 and finished 24th, 8th, 13th, and is currently 20th with four races remaining this season.
