It was just a few years ago.
NASCAR had some barn burner road-course races and some outstanding short track races.
The fans were loving it and begging for more. As NASCAR started working to appease those requests, they also went over the top to try and satisfy the owners who were begging for cost containment.
Fast forward to last weekend and we may have finally found the straw that broke the camel’s back. The hue and cry is deafening! This car has got to go or the fans will.
NASCAR was started on the backs of moonshiners who built cars designed to outrun revenuers. When they were running liquor they were bragging about who had built the fastest car.
From then until this version of the car one thing was constant, innovation was in the hands of the race teams. From Ralph Earnhardt buying up screw drivers to make axle keys to Smokey Yunick and his incredibly long fuel line, teams made their cars better than the others.
This new car changed that.
This car is a glorified Revell model.
The teams can only buy parts from a specific supplier who makes every one identical. The adjustments to the car are air pressure, shock shims and some wedge adjustments. The real problem is the amount of downforce is approximately 3,200 pounds.
Not that long ago, it was zero. The car is so aero-dependent that, when the fastest car on the track catches the last car on the lead lap, it can barely muster the speed to pass them.
In addition to the car being immensely equal across the board, the tires that are being brought to the track by good year are ridiculously consistent from the beginning of the runs to the end.
If tires would gradually fall off two or three seconds a lap or more, there would be discrepancy in cars during the race. A car may be fast for a period, but another car could take a different pit strategy and come out with better tires. That advantage would making passing easier for that car until the other car came in.
The bottom line is very straightforward.
The fans are fed up.
The minimal amount of on-track passes for the lead is horrible. The only time a driver is able to move forward is two or three laps after a restart.
The thrill for fans was beating, banging and trading paint on road courses and short tracks. This car has absolutely eliminated that unless a driver chooses to drive recklessly, and that generally leads to torn up race cars.
This past week, on two of the most popular podcasts in the sport, The Dale Jr. Download and Denny Hamlin‘s Actions Detrimental, both hosts were very clear about the fact that the current version of the car is all but unwatchable and the racing is horrendous.
When the 15-time Most Popular Driver and the second-winningest active driver scream from the mountain top, then it is dire time for a change.
NASCAR needs to listen.
The series needs to scrap this bolt-together car and put innovation back into the hands of the incredibly talented fabricators who mostly lost their jobs when this car was introduced. The time has come to admit the mistake and at least make the cars somewhat unique racecars again.
What is it that Mike Neff doesn’t do? Mike announces several shows each year for the Good Guys Rod and Custom Association. He also pops up everywhere from PRN Pit Reporters and the Press Box with Alan Smothers to SIRIUS XM Radio. He has announced at tracks all over the Southeast, starting at Millbridge Speedway. He's also announced at East Lincoln Speedway, Concord Speedway, Tri-County Speedway, Caraway Speedway, and Charlotte Motor Speedway.
NA$CAR suits, starting with the self=proclaimed genius Brian and continued by his toadies, will never admit to a mistake unless it fails to increase the bank account balance. Emperor Brian spent way too much time counting the money in the vault while NA$CAR burned.
The problem for NASCAR may run deeper than the current generation car.
Fun fact: Ford now sells exactly one car in the U.S., the Mustang. And they already have a crossover version of the Mustang, which makes me wonder if the car version’s days are numbered. I could be wrong, but I believe Chevy is down to two, the Malibu and the Corvette, and the Malibu is mostly hidden on their website.
Hard to be a “stock car” (yeah, I know) series if the very manufacturers who race in your series are phasing out cars.
For whatever reason, people overwhelmingly choose SUVs or trucks when they purchase a new vehicle. I’ll likely never understand this. All things being equal, cars are more fun to drive, handle better, and get better gas mileage (or range for those who go electric). I have an old beater truck, but only for hauling stuff like dirt or mulch, and as a spare vehicle should mine or my bride’s vehicles be in the shop.
I get there are those who need a truck or SUV. But 90% of the people I know who drive them never take them offroad, rarely if ever haul anything which wouldn’t fit in a car, and an AWD car is quite capable in the snow, if you’re in an area which gets the frosty stuff. (Heck, so is a FWD car, if you don’t drive like a dolt.)
And before a certain poster here cranks up his troll horn, I don’t drive a Prius, not that I care if others do. My car is a 310hp supercharged V6. I don’t drive crazy like I did when I was younger, but I still very much enjoy a spirited drive.
All that said, might the day come we see Cup series drivers fighting for the win in their Broncos, 4-Runners, and Tahoes? I sure hope not, but again, other than Toyota, the options for “stock cars” has waned to nearly nothing.
And the Malibu was actually discontinued at the end of 2024.
Thanks for the insight there. I was wondering why the Malibu seemed to be hidden on Chevy’s site. That explains it. They left it up for those researching new old stock, but don’t want to call attention to it.
I don’t disagree, but there are a couple of theories I have about why coupes and sedans have fallen out of favor. 1) Cost of vehicles (including insurance) in general have become ludicrous. With prices at this level, if you can even afford a vehicle, you have to get the one that will do everything. No more having a “spare” truck sitting around for weekend fishing/hunting/home improvement duties while the car escorts the family around during the week. and 2) For city folks, visibility is horrendous in traffic when you’re the only one not in a higher-sitting SUV or truck. And, they can’t see you, which means you have to pay double attention not to get hit. Plus, (in TX anyway) you’re trapped if traffic is at a standstill. With a SUV or truck, getting over/through that curb or median to the access road (or to turn around and find another route) is a breeze!
As for racing them… does anyone else race SUVs? I don’t know, might not be terrible if done right. But it couldn’t just be removing the current car and putting an SUV in. It would have to be a unique circuit – probably more akin to rally car.
Totally agree. Other things also irritate me with the new car. Be it the “crate” engines, with not enough HP and where teams can’t touch them, the plastic bodies making the drivers feel like superman, to the stupid toe links that must be made of glass because the most minor of contact breaks them, it has all additionally make the racing boring.
Owner’s, use to be owners wanted to dominate, but now it is all about cost control and charters.
The creation of the RTA and charter system really has cost the most harm. The difference between NASCAR and other sports is the sport is owned by one family that can dictate things. Brian France screwed it up and we live with it to this day.
And when you have a Mark Martin, Dale Jr. and Hamlin all complaining, obviously the only ones NASCAR listen to are the owners, never mind listening to the fan base.
Unfortunately nascar will not admit their mistake and its actually to late to turn back now bc the owners enjoy the lower cost of the existing cars it would be to expensive to open things up and be able to use different shocks and springs and engines with unlimited horse power. No more 10k rpm. Back in the day if the engine blew up you go back and make them bulletproof. Also its different today than when i grew up working on cars with my dad kids now days dont want to get greasy or most of them dont even want to go outside they enjoy playing their games on their switch. Its just changing generation. Some things are left behind to history.
……the fact that the current version of the car is all but unwatchable and the racing is horrendous….. been here since 1989 to present…. and I cannot stand what we are seeing…. Kill the damn splitter, underpan, zero suspension travel, INNOVATION… oh…. and HORSEPOWER…..
Couldn’t have said it better. I’ve been watching Nascar since I was 15. I’m now 78 and I don’t watch it anymore. It’s not interesting anymore. Nascar has become IROC. And where is IROC? That’s where Nascar is headed. Nascar has become all about FAKE excitement and money. Look how many tracks are gone. Which one is next???????????????
I have been a NASCAR fan since forever, but I am finding it increasingly difficult to watch today’s one-size-fits-all, underpowered cars. Last week, if remember correctly, the ARCA pole sitter’s speed was faster than that of the Cup pole sitter. Saturday night races at the local short track are much more interesting.
Sounds good except…
Very few teams have their own engineering. Most are buying from Gibbs, Hendrick, RCR, RFK and Penske.
Also, the tooling to make the parts on this current car are likely being paid a little at a time in the cost of the parts. They sure aren’t paid off yet.
Changing the car, while I personally like it, is not the next option.
Giving the teams more latitude in selectively modifying parts is a good starting point, but the silver bullet is adding horsepower. Short tracks and road courses had more horsepower in the previous generation of car. The reason for that hasn’t changed. It will add cost to the owners. But with Xfinity having a stable viewership of over 1M and Cup struggling to stay over 2M the advertising revenue will get even tighter in Cup.
Also, if I were king for a day I’d run some mid-week shows or double header weekends and stay the heck out of NFL territory to get more national focus on the Playoffs. Finally, get rid of win and you’re in. TV ratings plummeted when that was introduced. But no one cares about my opinion since I aged out of the 18 to 49 demographic.
Well said on all fronts.
I too recently aged out of the core demographic, and I recognize I’m no longer the core audience for most sports or TV programming. Then again, I’m Gen X, so nobody cared much about my generation in the first place. It seems we are seeing the transition from focusing on Boomers, to focusing on the generations behind mine. The memes are largely true here, as my Gen X view of this is “meh, whatever”.
This is something so many seem to miss…no one cares much about those outside the core age group, as data indicates that group is the most likely to spend $ based on sponsorships and ads.
Your last sentence is kind of ironic since all we hear about the younger generations are how they have no jobs, no money and will never live a decent life because those evil, cash-grabbing Boomers took it all and made sure nobody else could have any! lol
(Quick preface. Though I suppose some of what’s below could be considered political in nature, it is and has been true, irrespective of political party in power over the past decade or so.)
lol. Yeah, the no jobs thing is mostly fake news, as the unemployment reports show, and have shown. On balance, data shows younger generations are less loyal to employers than previous generations, which only makes sense given wages for the average American have stagnated, while cost of goods very much has not. They are working…they’re just not married to their jobs, for better or worse. Simply put, many of them don’t see the point, and I’m not sure I’d see it any differently, tables turned. (And that’s coming from a guy who has worked 35 years, never unemployed, and for three companies total including part time in high school.)
For the younger generations, other than kids born into money, or absolutely lucky or brilliant, I cannot imagine trying to make a decent life here on their own. Though my area is far from urban, housing prices have doubled and in some cases tripled in the past decade, while wages most certainly have not kept pace. Though I’ve had a good career thus far, zero chance I’d be able to afford what I have if I were starting anew in the current economic climate.
So, rather than trying to save for what may be an impossible dream for many of them, it seems they spend their money on smaller things they enjoy, whereas when I was younger, I could do a bit of both.
I think you and I grew up around the same time, and I totally agree. While it wasn’t easy, necessarily, it was possible for most to make it on their own right out of HS. I’m not sure that’s the case today. Some can, most can’t.
You look at the Xfinity races compared to the Cup races and the Xfinity races blow them away.
And the coverage is a lot more inclusive too.!