“I Am at a Loss of Words”: Christopher Bell Sings Denny Hamlin’s Tune in Frustration After NASCAR’s Forced Next Gen Change

NASCAR has received a lot of heat from some of the drivers due to the forced changes related to the Next Gen cars. According to NASCAR, the new directives are going to make racing safer and more competitive. However, according to some of the drivers, these changes will be either counter-productive or would act as a temporary solution. Christopher Bell recently joined his teammate Denny Hamlin in criticizing these directives.

Bell, who has been one of the more consistent performers this season, currently occupies the fourth position on the leaderboard. Despite this, he has raised his concern over the upcoming directives. Bell feels that the directives might be able to temporarily solve the problems the cars are having while passing. Nevertheless, a more concrete solution is needed to permanently solve the issue.

Christopher Bell raises concerns with Next Gen cars while demanding the one thing that every driver craves

Christopher Bell has had a good season this year. The 2023 Bristol Motor Speedway winner has been improving by leaps and bounds since joining Joe Gibbs Racing in 2021, coming in 3rd last season. However, recently he went on to criticize the changes being implemented to the Next Gen cars by NASCAR.

According to the upcoming changes, NASCAR is bringing in an all-new Splitter design—a design that would theoretically create lift in clean air. This will result in creating better downforce for cars in traffic. This will also help in reducing the negative effects of dirty air on cars. Ultimately, this change will help make overtaking easier for drivers.

Up until now, the simulations of these proposed changes have produced positive results. Nevertheless, we need to wait for the on-track testing results. These changes were supposed to be tested on track this weekend. However, due to the weather conditions, the testing has been postponed to July 30th.

In a recent interview, the #20 Camry driver said, “Everything we do to these race cars is somewhat of a band-aid for one problem and that’s the horsepower problem.” He also said, “I’ve been pushing for more horsepower ever since I got in the series in 2020.”

According to Bell, there is no doubt that increasing horsepower in Next Gen cars is the best solution. However, for that to happen, there needs to be a consensus on the grid. However, some of the teams want this and some teams don’t. Due to these opposing views, they can’t reach a stable solution. As best explained by Bell’s statement in the interview, “I don’t know, some of them wanted, some didn’t. I am at a loss for words. More horsepower would make a lot of things a lot better.”

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Denny Hamlin remains dissatisfied with the proposed changes

Denny Hamlin, who currently sits sixth on the Cup Series leaderboard has also raised his concern over these changes. According to him, “Less Downforce, in general, means less tire wear. We would be better as a sport in my opinion, and it’s unproven, to have more downforce and way more tire falloff because that would create way more lap time differentiation from those who have tires or don’t have tires. Because that’s how passing happens.”

Hamlin has previously gone on record in requesting NASCAR to increase the horsepower cap. He believes that that is the only way to make the sport more competitive. However, the current changes don’t reflect his request.

Two influential drivers have raised their concerns against the proposed changes. According to both, increasing the horsepower cap is the way to move forward. However, the teams opposing such a change cite an increase in the cost of the engine, since an engine with more horsepower would mean more degradation. Finally, it is up to NASCAR officials to decide if an increase in horsepower would be feasible or not.

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