Changes to the Next Gen car? A new NASCAR manufacturer? Electrification? Hydrogen?
For the 2022 season, NASCAR released the Next Gen car. It was a bold turn of the page as now all cars from team to team would basically be identical.
The Next Gen car was widely approved by the fans, specifically on intermediate tracks. However, most of those same fans would agree that the short tracks and road courses need some changes. NASCAR agrees and they have plans to address that.
Steve O’Donnell is the COO of NASCAR. He spoke on what we saw in the 2022 season and what might happen for 2023 and beyond.
NASCAR comments on contact in Next Gen car
Drivers had the option to race more aggressively in 2022. The new composite bodies would snap back into place. That opens the door for NASCAR to police the contact.
“We’re the only sport that doesn’t stop the action for instant replay and 5-7 minute video reviews. We’ve gotta make quick calls,” Steve O’Donnell stated.
“We don’t always get them right. We sometimes take heat from that and we should.”
“We want these cars to be harder to drive. We knew there would be more contact and more cautions. And we also have the result of the most green-flag passes we’ve ever seen.”
“You can make passes without driving somebody into the wall. We appreciate when drivers do that. It’s a fine line of where was someone moves, where were they not?”
“We want to make sure it doesn’t go too Wild-Wild-West. I think we’re right on the verge of that.”
“That’s our job to come in, police that and make the best call we can make with the data we have in front of us.”
Next Gen success; Changes for 2023?
“Yes, we recognize there’s work to do around road courses and short tracks. I think we’re all in the same page there.”
“But, for the most part, the product we’ve put on the track for intermediate racing has been the best I’ve ever seen.”
“That’s a credit to the drivers who were asking for a race car that was harder to drive. You’ve seen it on the track with record-setting amounts of green flag passes.”
“Probably the biggest thing is the number of cars that remain on the lead lap. One of the things we wanted to do what make it more competitive but also allow more teams to compete.”
“We’re one winner away from an all-time record. Certainly improvements to be made around safety, short tracks and road courses.”
New NASCAR manufacturer?; Looking into the future
“Well, I’m like the fans, I’m curious too,” Steve O’Donnell stated via Sirius XM NASCAR Radio on the possibility of a new manufacture.
“We do have those discussions and it’s a challenge. There’s so much going on in the auto industry right now.”
“There’s a balance between electrification, what we do for racing, hydrogen in the future, autonomous vehicles. You have to weigh all those things in a discussion now versus where we were 10 years ago.”
“There are ongoing discussions. I can say that there is interest. It’s a matter of dialing in, what we’re racing at our national series of car.”
“The biggest thing for us is making sure it’s entertaining for the race fans. What we race has to produce the racing that the fans expect.”
“That balance between where a manufacturer may want to go and what we want to deliver for the fans, we need to strike that balance.”
