NASCAR plans to up the horsepower for Next Gen in 2022

 

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    Yesterday afternoon, Friday, December 17th, NASCAR completed the final Next Gen test of the 2021 calendar year. During that NASCAR Cup Series test session, a new horsepower package was tested at the historic Charlotte Motor Speedway. The results of this package seem to have impressed the NASCAR sanctioning body, drawing their attention towards upping the horsepower for the generation 7 (Next Gen) cars in 2022. 

This new package, punching in at approximately 675 horsepower showed promising results, making the all new race cars difficult to handle, and allowing for off throttle time. Now, you may think that a race car that is difficult to handle would not be a good thing to aim for. In some ways, that is true, though in other ways a squirrely race car allows for unique driver input, necessity for racing talent, and an entertaining product. 

NASCAR Executive Vice President Steve O'Donnell announced yesterday during a press conference at the test site that NASCAR plans to ditch the (much disliked) 550 horsepower package, in exchange for a higher horsepower package, close to the 675 horsepower package seen at the Next Gen test. This decision was likely made by the sanctioning body due to the higher speeds, more room for driver error, and an entertaining race product brought on by the 670 horsepower package. O'Donnell also explained that OEMs and new manufacturers interested in entering the sport have expressed that higher horsepower will not be detrimental to their interest. Fox Sports' Bob Pockrass filmed part of this press conference, see the video below:

Steve O’Donnell on why NASCAR will ditch the 550 horsepower target for intermediate tracks and plans to use 670 horsepower at all tracks except for Daytona, Talladega and Atlanta. NASCAR had said discussions with potential new manufacturers had influenced the push to go with 550. pic.twitter.com/dLr3B0D2bH

— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) December 17, 2021

During this test at Charlotte Motor Speedway, teams also tested a six inch spoiler, and a four inch spoiler. Drivers, and fans alike were excited to see the combination of high horsepower, and less down force return to the track for the first time in many years. Roush Fenway Keselowski co-owner, and driver of the No. 6, Brad Keselowski was quoted as saying "I’m pretty excited about it because the cars are significantly more difficult to drive. … If you make a mistake, the penalty is huge. … The 4-inch felt like it was 2005 Cup cars.” (Keselowski qtd by Bob Pockrass). The construction of NASCAR race cars in previous eras is generally considered to be dominant in comparison to the cars of today, which can be seen as Keselowski uses the 2005 Cup car as another detail of his approval.

Its clear to see that there is much acceptance in the NASCAR world for this new high horsepower package, especially when it's paired with a smaller spoiler. For this reason alone, it's likely that the disapproval of NASCAR's race packages will see a decline during the upcoming season, though folks will always find something to be upset about.

NASCAR expects to increase the horsepower to around 670 horsepower for all tracks, aside for superspeedway tracks like Daytona, Talladega, and the newly re-configured Atlanta Motor Speedway (with high banking). Specific parameters for the 2022 NASCAR generation 7 race package will be announced at a later date.

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