The horsepower debate in NASCAR continues to attract more voices to it, the latest being that of Brad Keselowski. The RFK Racing co-owner is currently battling a 102-race winless streak and spoke to Frontstretch ahead of the season’s fifth race at the Bristol Motorspeedway.
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Questioned about his stand on the increased horsepower demand from his fellow drivers, he said that there is no guarantee fulfilling the ask would result in the desired results. However, he did go on to acknowledge that increasing the engine power would make driving more difficult and thereby, increase the separation between the cars, which is what drivers want.
He noted, “I think that’s really what the conversation is. The drivers are always wanting to have some level of separation because we have big egos. We think we can do it better than everybody else. NASCAR is generally on the opposite side of it. Less separation because you can have a tighter field.”
Another reason that NASCAR puts forward for its reluctance to increase horsepower is that more powerful engines would discourage new manufacturers from entering the sport.
Keselowski said about this, “I’ve never spoken to a new manufacturer that’s said anything to that regard. But you know I don’t speak to a lot of new manufacturers. It’s very rare. So, it would be hard for me to try to assume I know what they want.”
Brad Keselowski details how NASCAR short-track racing has changed Next Gen car
Keselowski continued at Bristol on Saturday about how the cars today took a lot less discipline to drive because they were underpowered. He said, as reported by Sportsnaut.com, “The car takes considerably less discipline to drive. That’s probably the biggest frustration, especially for drivers who raced in this series 10 years ago.”
He continued, “We remember coming to tracks like Bristol, or my goodness, Martinsville, where you could never go full throttle. It took a really disciplined approach to how you drove the car and everything around it.” His opinion was that though side-by-side racing was a great quality the Next-Gen car facilitated, racing discipline ought to be brought into the mix.
While Keselowski’s take does appear attractive, the promotion might now view matters under a similar scope because more horsepower could result in comprising safety standards.
But for now, the solution lies in the new aerodynamic short-track package that it has created.
