NASCAR increasing horsepower at select tracks for 2026

NASCAR confirmed on Wednesday an increase in horsepower, from 670 to 750, at some tracks for the 2026 season.

The increase for Cup Series teams will apply to all road and street courses, as well as ovals shorter than 1.5 miles in length. In total, 17 racetracks will feature the uprated power level.

“Like any other change that we are considering to the cars, we listen to the fans a lot,” said NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing development officer John Probst. “We listen to the drivers. We have stakeholders in the broadcast, OEM (manufacturers), and team competition and team business folks, so there's always no shortage of feedback that we get. Our fans are very passionate, they provide very candid feedback, so that all is very important to us.

“We do listen to it. We are working on a lot of things in the background, we don’t often always talk about them until we’re ready to come out and announce an implementation plan for them. Their feedback is very important.”

The tracks set for the power boost include: Bowman Gray Stadium, Circuit of The Americas, Phoenix Raceway, Darlington Raceway, Martinsville Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Watkins Glen International, Dover Motor Speedway, Nashville Superspeedway, San Diego street course, Sonoma Raceway, North Wilkesboro Speedway, Iowa Speedway, Richmond Raceway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, World Wide Technology Raceway and Charlotte Motor Speedway road course.

The road and street courses, as well as shorter ovals, have been a point of contention within the industry regarding on-track passing and the aesthetics of a good race, particularly since the Next Gen car debuted in 2022. In addition to Goodyear's work on softer tires in recent years, the discussion has led to continuous calls for more horsepower to see if an improvement can be found.