CEO O’Donnell says NASCAR remains committed to Next Gen car

NASCAR CEO Steve O’Donnell dismissed the idea of a eighth-generation car coming to the Cup Series anytime soon, saying the focus remains on any modifications to the current model.

“I think it’s important to look at what changes can you tweak along the way,” O’Donnell said Friday during his State of the Sport address at Homestead-Miami Speedway. “But for us, we want a sustainable model for the industry, and a Gen8 or a Next Gen car comes with all kinds of costs and different things. So, I’m confident in our guys and the industry and the OEMs to tweak what we have where necessary but also be pretty confident in our drivers going out there and having the ability to go win races and put on some pretty darn good competition.”

O’Donnell also included that the basis for the Next Gen car, which was introduced in 2022, was a better pathway for team ownership and manufacturers. NASCAR wasn’t seeing interest from potential new manufacturers and was having conversations about what wasn’t sustainable for the sport.

Sunday completes the fifth season for Next Gen. As it does, O’Donnell looks at the last handful of years and points to new owners who have come into the sport, a healthier landscape for them, Dodge set to return to the Cup Series in 2027 and other manufacturers continuing to take a look at stock car racing.

“The facts, when you look at those, when you look at other sports, are pretty strong,” O’Donnell said.

But the car has faced criticism from within the industry and from fans about how it races. A big complaint has been over its effect at the short tracks. NASCAR has continued to work through different aero packages and with softer Goodyear tires to find the right combination.

“We always want the fans to embrace what we’re doing, but when we look at the facts, the facts say that short track racing, in comparison to metrics over the last few years, is at its highest level possible from positivity from our fans,” said O’Donnell. “So, you may have different metrics, but our metrics, when we look at the fan council and everyone, say we are trending in a very positive direction. Does that mean everything is great and we’ve stopped doing anything? No. I think you’ve seen us make some significant changes; we’ll continue to do that.

“Every race is a focus. We’ve got 38 opportunities on the Cup level to make a difference and showcase [to] fans and make them big events. We’re always looking at the car; we’re always looking to improve. That’s what we do each and every day, but I’m confident our team will continue to do that, and we’ll continue to have the best racing in the world, in my opinion.”

NASCAR did increase horsepower at road courses and racetracks under 1.5 miles this season, from 670 to 750. It was a step toward more throttle control for the drivers and tire management.

The road courses impacted were Circuit of The Americas, Watkins Glen, San Diego and Sonoma. On the ovals, it was for Bowman Gray (non-points), Phoenix Raceway, Darlington Raceway, Martinsville Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Dover Motor Speedway, Nashville Superspeedway, North Wilkesboro Speedway, Iowa Speedway, Richmond Raceway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway and World Wide Technology Raceway (St. Louis).

O’Donnell said discussions are ongoing about decisions around it for 2027.

“I think it’s certainly a topic that we’re looking at, but as with anything, it’s not just increased horsepower and everything will be great,” O’Donnell said. “You’ve got to look at some other aspects. There are brake challenges, some different things that go with that.”

As for superspeedway racing, O’Donnell said NASCAR is comfortable with what it has seen going into the Daytona 500. As such, there are no plans for a preseason test.