“Sometimes it’s remembering what made millions of people fall in love with NASCAR in the first place.”
Last weekend, NASCAR raced on the 2.5-mile of Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Since that race, the sport has seen criticism from both fans and drivers.
Indianapolis Race Results: July 26, 2026 (NASCAR Cup Series)
Sunday’s race marked the first race on the 2.5-mile track with the Next Gen car. In recent years, they have been racing on the road course. And, it brought major issues to light.
Indianapolis is a large, single groove race track. It’s been well documented that the Next Gen car has positives but those positives tend to appear on tracks with multiple grooves.
After the race, drivers have been vocal on the flaws that come with the Next Gen chassis.
NASCAR has seen far more change than a car. Other changes from recent decades include stage racing and a playoff format. The sport thrived before all that.
Now, former NASCAR winner Jeremy Mayfield has added his voice to the conversation…
NASCAR drivers continue to knock the Next Gen car after Indy
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“I was lucky enough to race when NASCAR was at its absolute best, and I’ll tell you firsthand… it wasn’t an accident,” Jeremy Mayfield opened.
“Every weekend felt like a big event. The grandstands were packed, the broadcasts were second to none, the cars sounded mean, and every driver had their own style. Nobody needed manufactured excitement. You either figured out how to race or you got passed.”
“Somewhere along the way we started trying to create entertainment instead of just letting racers race.”
“Stage breaks… gimmicks… overcomplicating everything… meanwhile the fans are saying, ‘Just let them race.’ “
Related: Jeremy Mayfield details the raid on his house
Loss of creativity
“Another thing we’ve lost is creativity,” Mayfield added.
“Back when I raced, the smartest teams found speed because they built it. Crew chiefs, engineers, fabricators, mechanics—everybody was chasing something the next guy hadn’t figured out yet. Every car was different because every team had its own ideas. Drivers spent time in the shop, worked on their own race cars, and knew exactly what they needed behind the wheel because they helped build it.”
“Today, everybody starts with basically the same ‘kit’car. The people in the garage are still talented, but NASCAR has taken away so much of the creativity that used to separate the great teams from the good ones. It used to be about out-thinking and out-working the competition. Now it’s a whole lot more plug-and-play than it ever was.”
“Fans don’t care about aero numbers or the latest rule package. They want personalities. They want rivalries. They want to see drivers race each other hard. They want to see a driver willing to use the bumper in the last corner on the last lap to get the trophy. Funny how people are still talking about those moments decades later.”
“I’ll” always love this sport, and that’s exactly why I say all this. I got to live through what I believe was NASCAR at its best. It wasn’t perfect, but it was real. The drivers drove, the crews built race cars instead of assembling parts, and every Sunday felt like you were about to witness something you’ll never forget.”
“Sometimes the answer isn’t creating something new. Sometimes it’s remembering what made millions of people fall in love with NASCAR in the first place.”
Related: Jeremy Mayfield knocks NASCAR after leaked messages
