Ever since the introduction of the Next-Gen cars, there have been significant changes in the vehicles and the style of racing in the first and second tiers of NASCAR. The main goal behind the introduction of these cars was to reduce operational costs and achieve parity, which led to a focus on aerodynamics.
This has resulted in a major shift in how the cars behave, particularly during races in the top-tier Cup series compared to the Xfinity Series, where the older generation cars are still used. Last week, Denny Hamlin, a veteran driver for Joe Gibbs Racing and co-owner of 23XI Racing, discussed the significant differences experienced while racing these new machines.
He highlighted the most noticeable difference, which is the loss of all downforce when a car closes in on the leader in the Cup series. In the Xfinity series, the leading car is forced to take evasive action as they rely on rear downforce when being closed in on. This used to be the case in the Cup series in the past, but it is no longer observed.
Hamlin pointed out that due to these aerodynamic issues, passing has become extremely challenging compared to the past. However, he has a suggestion to address this problem. He proposes that NASCAR allows teams to come up with their own ideas for one race and evaluate the outcome of this experiment.
The aerodynamic issue has been a major topic of discussion in the racing community since the beginning of the Next-Gen era. It will be interesting to see how NASCAR plans to resolve this problem and whether they will consider Hamlin’s ideas.
