Latest news with #NextGenCar
New York Times
4 days ago
- Automotive
- New York Times
Why driving fast in NASCAR's Next Gen car is not like your car: You're ‘on the limit'
When NASCAR's best Cup Series drivers spin out by themselves, even hardcore race fans often lack the understanding of what happened. Did the driver just lose focus? Did he 'run out of talent,' to use a common racing expression? Did he try too hard instead of being smarter about how much to push? It's not easy to imagine for someone who has never raced, drivers say, but the reality involves pushing their cars to the maximum they can go without wrecking — just to avoid finishing at the rear of the field. Advertisement 'Until you take a vehicle built for racing — not built for comfort — and you go and put it over the limit of what it can do and then bring it back without crashing, it's hard to describe that,' Trackhouse Racing driver Ross Chastain said. But that's only been emphasized more with the current Cup Series car — the series' seventh generation of vehicle known as the 'Next Gen' car. All of the Next Gen cars have the same major parts and pieces, and NASCAR's rules require them to be built within a tight tolerance. There is little to distinguish one car from another, and thus they largely run at the same speed. So when drivers try to make passes, particularly at racetracks not wide enough to give them many options aside from the primary racing line, even the best of the best feel stuck. And what do they do to counteract it? Try to push their vehicles harder. Except the Next Gen in particular doesn't like that; drivers say that, without warning, the car suddenly snaps around on them with no chance of saving it, whereas other types of race cars might slide first. 'Every time you go into the corner, you have to be full commit, 100 percent — but you're just guessing, 'Where is my grip level going to be?' as it's getting worse every lap (because the tires are wearing out),' 2023 NASCAR champion Ryan Blaney said. 'Being able to feel that in the seat of your pants is what makes race car drivers — finding the edge of control each lap without going over it. 'And you see us step over it all the time, right? You go bust your a—, you'll wreck. That's because you're always on the limit, and it's a really fine line.' So if drivers are so close to the edge of disaster on every single lap around the track, why don't they just back off a little bit to make sure they don't crash? That seems logical, no? Advertisement Well, the problem with that line of thinking is each driver in the Cup Series is already going all-out, so if a driver decides to play it even a bit safe, 'you're running 30th every week,' Blaney said. 'That's how you have speed and that's how you win races,' he added. 'It's just a matter of 'How close to the edge do you want to get?'' That word — 'edge' — was used by every driver The Athletic asked about this topic. It's the best way for them to describe how close to the limit they really are, and the bravery and trust in their car it takes to truly go fast in NASCAR. It's why Christopher Bell spun twice while battling for the lead at Dover last month. It's why Kyle Larson will suddenly crash on his own sometimes. It's why Kyle Busch suddenly looks mortal at Richard Childress Racing after mounting a Hall of Fame career at Joe Gibbs Racing. 'I'm trying to make our stuff go faster than it's capable of going,' Busch said. 'That is what has gotten me to 63 wins in this sport, being able to push the fastest cars to that limit and just destroy everybody. Now we're trying to do that with where we're at, just to get ourselves into the top 10.' But Busch feels like he doesn't have a choice. The drivers who run up front every week — from Gibbs, Hendrick Motorsports or Team Penske — race for teams who have figured out how to have a fraction more grip in their cars or have elite pit crews that gain them valuable track position instead of having to make passes on the racetrack. The only way for Busch's RCR car to run with the top organizations on a normal week is to push harder, except that creates a scenario where he's constantly close to crashing — and sometimes does. 'If you're not leading the race and driving away, then you're probably driving over 90 percent,' he said. 'It's the nature of this car.' Advertisement The same goes for second-year Cup driver Carson Hocevar of Spire Motorsports, who said he has noticed other drivers appear to be more in control than he is — but he feels that's the only way for him to extract the speed he needs to compete. Hocevar is one of the fastest drivers in the series, but he also makes plenty of mistakes that take either himself or another driver out of contention — often drawing the ire of other competitors. 'This car is super easy to spin,' Hocevar said. 'In the Truck Series or anything else I've driven, it's like you get loose and you hold the wheel straight and it'll save it for you. Where here (in the Cup Series), you lose downforce the looser you get and it starts chattering the rear because the sidewall (of the tires) is so short.' That creates a scenario where the car suddenly turns around with little warning, often before drivers have a chance to try and avoid a spin. Hocevar said he's proud to have saved his car from wrecking a few times this season, which doesn't happen regularly with the Next Gen. 'That's just what it takes to be fast,' Hocevar said. 'If you're on the edge, you're able to separate yourself from the guys who aren't or can't get their cars to do that. So in a world where the cars are super, super close, that can be an advantage — but a lot of times when you're on the limit, your intensity is really high.' RFK Racing's Ryan Preece, who grew up racing open-wheel modified cars, said there are two ways drivers can approach finding speed: Either 'try to tip up on it' gradually — which sacrifices speed — or 'jump on the other side and wreck.' That's because even though the objective is to be as close to the edge as possible without overstepping, it's a moving target as to where the line actually is. That goes for all teams, whether they're racing in the middle of the pack or the lead. Because even for the fastest cars, the advantage in the Next Gen is so small that drivers must push it to the edge and try to survive the race without going over the line. 'When you're right,' Preece said, 'that's what it takes.' (Top photo of Christopher Bell spinning during last month's Dover race: Sean Gardner / Getty Images) Spot the pattern. 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Yahoo
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Dale Earnhardt Jr: I don't love NASCAR's NextGen car
Dale Earnhardt Jr: I don't love NASCAR's NextGen car originally appeared on The Sporting News Dale Earnhardt Jr. wants to be nuanced but like everyone else in NASCAR, he is increasingly frustrated with the NextGen car, even if there are some things he ultimately does enjoy about it. Similar to the commentary echoed by Kevin Harvick earlier in the week, where the 2014 Cup Series champion said 'the car sucks,' Earnhardt was equally frustrated by another short track race at the highest level that stifled passing and became a fuel mileage strategy race. The race on Sunday at Iowa Speedway was representative of all the things that wears him out as well. 'I want to say that I don't love the Next Gen car, but it's here,' Earnhardt said on the Tuesday episode of the Dale Jr. Download. 'I don't love the NextGen car…. It's an IMSA car. It's a sports car. It's got a diffuser. It's got low-profile tires, it's got big rims and big brakes. It's a sports car. It's not a NASCAR stock car, but it's here. Everybody's invested. 'There's millions of dollars already way down the road and the car's here. It's on the track. It's not changing. It's not going anywhere… It doesn't do me any good to sit here and bitch about the fucking lack of tire fall off or the inability to pass. It's frustrating.' It's a familiar story three and a half years into this platform. The car is too underpowered, especially considering it weighs more than its predecessor. The car has wider tires and a sealed underbody. The drag creates an extreme aero tight for a trailing car. NASCAR has tried a lot to fix it, aerodynamically, but nothing has really fundamentally changed. 'I see things during those races, like getting down into Turn 1, Erik Jones behind somebody, maybe Byron or somebody,' Earnhardt said. 'And Byron shut the damn air off to the 43 car and fucking up the racetrack Erik Jones went, and I'm like, 'God, I fucking hate this car.' But then there's moments where I enjoy watching the races, and I don't mind the car or the car puts on a great show.' Earnhardt especially doesn't understand the big brakes. 'We used to race at Martinsville, and the brakes would fade and you'd have to take care of your brakes, and the braking zone was long enough to be able to kind of charge into a corner and do things different to try to make passes,' he said. Not with this car because the big Sports Car brakes don't fade. Earnhardt wants to be nuanced and fair but this car is challenging that enthusiasm on tracks that are supposed to be their best produce – those a mile or less in size. 'I believe in a successful NASCAR, and I want NASCAR to succeed and be the best thing going,' Earnhardt said. Ultimately, and historically, NASCAR has been at its best with cars with high horsepower, low downforce, minimal grip and fading brakes. But again, not this car. 'The answers are all laying right there in our past,' Earnhardt said. 'We're worried about being modern and having a race car that all the kids are gonna love, you know, with cool diffusers and mag wheels.'
New York Times
10-05-2025
- Automotive
- New York Times
NASCAR Cup Series at Kansas odds, predictions: Kyle Larson favored at our experts' favorite track
The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Kansas City for one of the — if not the — best current tracks for the Next Gen car and a really entertaining day of racing. Kyle Larson leads the odds, but Team Penske is looking speedy right now and 23XI Racing used to be the team to beat at this track. So, what should we expect on Sunday? Our NASCAR experts, Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi, are here to break down what last week's Texas race hints for Kansas, why Ross Chastain isn't being talked about enough and who they're picking as favorites and long shots at Kansas Speedway on Sunday. Take it away, guys! We missed last week, thanks to this editor *ahem* being at the Kentucky Derby. But we're back! What was your top takeaway from the Texas race as it relates to how the field is doing heading into Kansas and then the All-Star race? Jeff: In 2023, Tyler Reddick won at Kansas and continued 23XI Racing's string of successful runs to the extent it became practically a given that the team would be one to beat at the 1.5-mile track. But last year, something weird happened: Neither Reddick nor teammate Bubba Wallace finished in the top 15 of either Kansas race, and Reddick even finished 25th in the playoff race there before eventually making the Championship 4. Advertisement So when I asked Reddick what to expect from him at Kansas before the Texas race, he said he'd put a lot of stock into how 23XI performed at the Fort Worth intermediate track. 'They're not very similar, but a car that is going to run good here, have performance and have speed here, will have speed at Kansas,' Reddick said. Reddick was then arguably the fastest car at Texas despite never getting control of the race (and ultimately spinning himself across Daniel Suarez's nose while running in the top five). But what I took from Texas was that we might see 23XI about to emerge with some speed. Jordan: The drivers we expected to be strong at Texas essentially were Kyle Larson, Tyler Reddick, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin and William Byron, who each stood out at various points. And with Texas and Kansas having some similar characteristics, it's not a reach at all to think that everyone within this group will be in contention for the win this weekend. The noticeable difference between these two tracks, however, is that Texas is a much more treacherous oval with a penchant for producing a multitude of accidents, often because a driver loses control off Turn 2 or hits a nasty bump in Turn 4. Kansas is challenging, but not to this degree. You asked before last week's race if Texas Motor Speedway is turning a corner. Is it? Jeff: I don't know if it's racing much differently, but people seem to be coming around to the fact that it's a place that requires drivers to 'race the racetrack' more than each other. In other words, it's not like a Kansas or Homestead where they have the ability to run all over the place and just race it out. The drivers don't seem to know what's going on, either. As Reddick said, it looks like it's aging when they walk the track, but then it doesn't race any differently. Here's William Byron: 'I've had the opinion for a while now that the asphalt they've used here is just different than what we've had in the past. It's really dusty. It just seems like the rubber kind of sits on top of the racetrack, and there's just all this little dust and crumbs on top that I feel like are hard to work out of the track. It looks way grayer — looks like it should be 15 years old — but it still has a ton of grip. It's just odd.' Advertisement Jordan: Recent Texas races are certainly more entertaining than before, though admittedly that's a low bar. Still, Texas deserves praise for the improvements it's made — including attendance increasing by double digits and growth in other key metrics. And while races at Texas may often be chaotic in nature, its reputation as being one of NASCAR's most demanding tracks is not necessarily a bad thing. The place has an improved identity now than before, and this is a positive thing. Ross Chastain has some killer restart stats, as shared by Auto Racing Analytics after Texas. Is that partially because he's coming from further back, or does he just have a unique skill set? NOOB question: What can drivers do to improve their restarts? Who would you have said is the best vs. what these stats show? Jeff: As Auto Racing Analytics pointed out, it's not even just the total positions gained for Chastain on restarts — it's his retention rate (how often he's able to do a restart without losing positions). The account has tracked Chastain with a 91.1 percent retention rate this year, and he has lost spots on only four restarts all season. By comparison, the next-best restarters are in the low 80 percent range. When I asked Chastain about this after the race at Texas, he said: 'Yes, I see those stats and I wonder. Some of it is circumstance. Part of it is taking the very low percentage holes on restarts and trying to make it work off of Turn 2.' It's likely more of the latter, according to Auto Racing Analytics, which noted Chastain has been in the top three for restart statistics in three of the four Next Gen seasons so far. Jordan: The restart stats speak to how well Chastain is performing this year, where he routinely is taking a car lacking speed and still finding a way to score solid finishes. Nearly every week, he is maximizing everything he can out of his car, pushing it higher up the running order than he should be otherwise. It's a very remarkable effort by Chastain that isn't getting talked about enough, but it demonstrates how gifted a driver he is. NASCAR at Texas beat F1 Miami in viewership! At the risk of angering our NASCAR fans, that surprised me! What changed, if anything? Did NASCAR do anything to ensure better promotion? Did F1 lose traction in the U.S.? Jeff: It's not only that NASCAR beat F1, but how it happened. NASCAR was airing on cable (FS1) while the F1 race was on network TV (ABC). Still, last year's Miami race was an outlier when it comes to F1 ratings. It had a lead-in from an NBA Playoffs Game 7, and NASCAR was also in a three-hour rain delay at Kansas, so curious NASCAR fans flipped over to Miami. F1 then wasn't able to replicate that rating for the rest of the season in the U.S., and NASCAR has continued to win the head-to-head battle domestically. Some caveats, though: F1 is obviously massively popular worldwide, and there's no comparison to NASCAR internationally; it's not even a conversation. And there was also an alarming number for NASCAR in the Miami rating: Adam Stern noted F1 won the 18-49 demographic by more than 300,000 viewers, and the viewership shows more than 80 percent of NASCAR's audience was NOT in that younger demographic. So that continues to be a very old-skewing audience for NASCAR. Advertisement Jordan: You can decipher TV ratings in many different ways, especially with so many contributing factors. That said, NASCAR has to be absolutely pleased that it toppled F1 head-to-head and did so having its Texas race on cable rather than on a network. Definitely something to hang your hat on if you're a NASCAR decision-maker. And from a larger perspective, it may indicate that F1's once explosive growth in the United States has hit its ceiling. OK: Kansas time! What should we know from insiders heading into Kansas that may affect the race on Sunday? Jeff: Ah, my favorite current NASCAR track! Kansas in the Next Gen Era has turned into an incredible place to race, as evidenced by last spring's all-time banger (that was topped by the closest finish in NASCAR history). That race sits No. 1 in my 'Was it a good race?' poll with 95.8 percent of people saying yes, and that's out of 349 races in the poll since 2016. This track is about as pure as it gets in terms of NASCAR racing these days. It's all-out, hammer-down racing with multiple options where drivers can make their cars work on the track. We're about to find out who is bringing the most speed this season and watch them get their way to the front for a terrific battle. Jordan: Kansas is arguably one of the two or three best tracks currently on the schedule, and has a strong, strong case for being P1 on the list. This is one of those races you circle before the season as 'can't miss.' And the thing is, while expectations are exceedingly high for Sunday's race, there is a likelihood that said expectations will be surpassed because Kansas is such a terrific track that has become a standard-bearer as the best of what NASCAR is. Who is your favorite to win at Kansas? Jeff: As mentioned earlier, this could be Reddick's breakout race for the season and mark a return to victory lane — but if the 23XI cars are fast, that could also mean a big day for Bubba Wallace. Still, despite that speed, I'm going to go with a Team Penske car and pick Ryan Blaney. I'm really liking the speed I'm seeing across Penske right now, and Blaney has arguably been the fastest car — except he hasn't won yet. That could get remedied this weekend while he also makes it three wins in a row for Penske (after Austin Cindric won at Talladega and Joey Logano won at Texas). Jordan: The obvious pick is Kyle Larson, and for good reason. He and the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports team excel on these types of tracks and routinely factor in the outcome. In Larson's past seven Kansas races, he has two wins, two seconds and two finishes inside the top eight. That's why he's the betting favorite. Who is a long shot you like? Jeff: OK, so this isn't really a long shot, but how about Chris Buescher at +2200? Buescher was literally a couple of inches away from winning last year's Kansas race and showed speed again at Texas last week. If that fast car translates to Kansas, he might be able to find victory lane this time around. But as long as we're not going for big reaches on the long shots this week, Josh Berry at +2500 is a bit ridiculous. He just won the Las Vegas race earlier this season on a similar type of track and was leading at Texas last week, so there's no reason he wouldn't be able to have that Penske-caliber speed at Kansas as well. Jordan: Josh Berry has had a lot of speed this season — not just on mile-and-a-half tracks but really most styles of tracks — and this should continue on Sunday. The area of concern, though, is that while Berry has been fast, he hasn't been able to consistently convert that speed into corresponding finishes. But if you're looking for a sleeper, Berry is easily the best, especially being listed at +2500, which is stupid high. Streaming and Betting/Odds links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication. (Photo of Kyle Larson: Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images)
