Doing everything but fixing the car…
NASCAR has faced quite a few problems with their Gen 7 (or Next Gen) Cup Series car since it debuted back in 2022. The car was meant to save teams money by requiring them to use parts sourced from a single source and standardizing many of the parts of the car – think buying a model car from Walmart and just putting it together.
The problem, though, has been that the car has been generally terrible at short tracks and road courses, putting on some pretty boring races at what used to be some of the sport’s most exciting tracks.
As a result, NASCAR made some changes following last season by decreasing the downforce and increasing the horsepower at tracks less than a mile and a half, which has undoubtedly helped – though it definitely hasn’t solved the problem altogether.
Another problem that NASCAR is facing comes on superspeedways, those tracks longer than 2 miles that feature drafting and cars racing in large packs (basically Daytona and Talladega, as well as Atlanta since it was remodeled).
The past several superspeedway races have featured long periods of time where the drivers would run around in a large pack at significantly less than full throttle in an attempt to save fuel.
And there are a few reasons to employ a fuel saving strategy at superspeedways: First, it’s incredibly difficult to pass in the Next Gen car. It’s much easier pass cars on pit road by spending less time in the pits, so if you need less fuel than the other guys you can make up spots on the track.
Then there’s stage racing. NASCAR splits races into three stages, with a caution in between each stage, meaning teams know exactly when they’ll be able to come to pit road for fuel and tires. As a result, crew chiefs will plan out their race and pit strategy so that they spend only as much time on pit road getting fuel as they need to get to the next caution (or the end of the race) and no more.
At a track like Daytona or Talladega, where new tires aren’t as important to a car’s speed, if you can come into the pits for a splash of fuel and get back out there without changing tires, you can gain spots if you need less fuel than your competitors.
It’s a giant cat and mouse game, but the result has been cars running around at half throttle or less trying to save fuel for the first half of the race rather than putting the pedal to the metal and trying to work their way to the front.
Long story short, it makes the races boring.
Well apparently NASCAR has heard the criticism from fans (and drivers alike), and are working to make changes that would reduce fuel saving at superspeedways. One of those changes will come in just a couple weeks when NASCAR heads to Talladega Superspeedway, with NASCAR announcing modified stage lengths in an attempt to change up the strategy that requires fuel saving in the first place.
But the bigger change is, apparently, being looked at for next year’s Daytona 500: Mandatory four tire pit stops.
NASCAR President Steve O’Donnell was on the Door, Bumper, Clear podcast this week, where he revealed that one thing they’re considering is requiring drivers to change four tires on pit stops if they want to put gas in the car.
“We’re not looking at it this year, but for next year, four tires you gotta take with fuel, whatever. We’re looking at a lot of those things.”
Requiring teams to put on four tires when they take fuel would obviously lengthen the pit stops, and if you’re in the pits already, might as well put in as much gas as you can while you’re there. And if you have plenty of gas there’s no reason to save fuel.
Well at least that’s NASCAR’s thinking – but what do fans think about it?
bruh they really be doing everything but fix the damn car 😭😭
— DennyDeliversYT 📦 (@DennyDelivers2) April 14, 2026
I cannot think of a worse solution.
— Joshua Reynolds (@theJoshRey) April 14, 2026
If there’s anything NASCAR has perfected in the last couple decades, it’s dialing up the most ridiculous and contrived tweaks to “address” problems they’re too stubborn to admit they created in the first place.
TLDR: THE CAR IS THE PROBLEM!
— David Foster Flawless (@Yes_The_Real_Me) April 14, 2026
Yikes…
And look, I applaud NASCAR for recognizing there’s a problem and wanting to fix it. Too many times we’ve seen them try to defend a product that clearly needed improvement instead of working to make it better.
But at the same time, the proposed solution comes at a time when NASCAR is working to simplify things for fans, like doing away with the convoluted playoff system and going back to the Chase. Why add another rule in there when the car is clearly the problem?
