If you’re hitting 195 miles per hour on a behemoth like the Talladega Superspeedway, would you consider yourself going “half-throttle”? Most would disagree. But unsurprisingly, that was the general opinion after Ricky Stenhouse Jr won yet another divisive draft track race on Sunday. 

Thanks to the single-lug nuts, refueling a car now takes longer than changing all four tires in the Next-Gen era. But that doesn’t quite explain why almost every superspeedway race these days ends with teams relying on fuel-saving strategies, following a Big One that rinses the running order in the last laps. While passing on massive tracks like Talladega and Daytona has always been tough, the Next-Gen car’s limitations have raised questions about whether these races have lost their former “greatness.”

Chris Gabehart certainly thinks so, especially after Denny Hamlin barely cracked the top 10 at Talladega. Surprisingly, Gabehart’s controversial views have found an unexpected ally in former Cup Series spotter Brett Griffin.

‘No more greatness’ at superspeedways heats up the Next-Gen debate

Nine different drivers have won at Talladega in that many races since Denny Hamlin won the 2020 YellaWood 500. And while that’s somewhat in line with NASCAR’s aims of increased parity in the field, some fans have become disillusioned with its current narrative. Like most draft track races in the Gen-7 era, most people said Sunday’s 195-lap superspectacle was also a fuel-mileage race. On top of that, the Big One at Lap 184 only feeds more evidence to the conspiracy that superspeedway events usually depend on a massive caution to reset everything during the closing stretch. But without proof, all of that is false accusations.

Amidst the 66 lead changes in the race between 24 drivers, the Next-Gen car’s drafting liability was evident when Kyle Busch, a 3x superspeedway winner, attempted to create a third line at the top of the track in overtime, breaking free from the middle lane running 5th. His plan did not work, and Busch dropped to 19th at the end of the race. These blink-and-you’ll-miss-it discrepancies led Brett Griffin to declare on the Oct. 8 episode of Door Bumper Clear, “I agree with [Chris Gabehart], you know…”

Griffin added, “When you look at the move yesterday where TJ (Brad Keselowski’s #6 car spotter) doesn’t get up to block the top. In the old days with the old cars… even‌ with the alliances, you want to get that lead.” He elaborated, “Because you know I can get up right here and when the bottom comes back, I can get down I can fade a line. So many opportunities. Much like the Xfinity Series is even today for the driver to showcase his skill. And the team to showcase their ability to beat speed in a race car, whether that be the motor department, the aero department, or whatever. So, I side with Gabehart and I agree something has to be done.”

Adding his to the chorus of voices that includes a lot many people barring just Chris Gabehart, who damn the current state of superspeedway racing, Griffin concluded with a harrowing picture, “And I just think the Integrity of the racing at Talladega has been compromised. Given what we’re putting on the track right now.” 

After Chris Gabehart‘s driver navigated a rough day, and the late-race Big One from below the top 30 positions to finish tenth on the restart, the #11 team pit boss had raised some interesting grievances about the superspeedway racing product. “With Gen 7 speedway racing, I just don’t see any greatness,” he had declared. “There is qualifying up front. There’s a little bit of a tussle after an event… But once they get all lined up, you’re just stuck. There’s no more driver ability, not more driver talent to speak of,” added Gabehart.

A 670-hp engine and a 4-inch spoiler–That’s what the sanctioning body is putting on a track like Talladega or Daytona, “right now” with this Next-Gen car. Some like Denny Hamlin propose reducing engine power and eliminating the rear diffuser to improve NASCAR’s struggling superspeedways. Others have suggested even more drastic measures, such as removing restrictor-plate races from the schedule altogether. But in the background of Chris Gabehart and Brett Griffin’s candid admissions, Denny Hamlin’s 2024 GEICO 500-winning employee raised some contradictory observations, straight from the driver’s seat.

Denny Hamlin’s team divided on the issue

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Regular season champion Tyler Reddick booked his spot in the playoffs at Talladega in May, as the field unsurprisingly wrecked behind him, while the #45 approached the checkered flag. This time, burdened by more than just the post-season pressure at 23XI Racing, Reddick’s #45 Camry XSE finished lowest out of all Toyotas that did not end their race early. Off track, 23XI Racing finds itself involved in an Anti-trust lawsuit against NASCAR’s “monopolistic charter” policies. But that’s an issue Denny Hamlin & Michael Jordan will take that care of. And Tyler Reddick would do himself no favors by focusing on it.

Regardless, before he kicked off his advances from the 14th position on Sunday, Reddick told Nate Ryan of NASCAR.com, “I don’t love the thought of all the fuel-saving… But as a driver, it is completely in your hands in the first half of those stages. You’re able to go right to the back. You’re able to go right to the front. It’s totally in your control.” Shining the spotlight on how much the drivers also affect the car’s performance on race day, Reddick emphasized his motion.

“If we were all saving zero fuel, we would just run side by side, two by two for the entire race… I don’t think we’d see a lot of movement,” detailed the 28-year-old California speedster. However, he happily took the blame away from the Gen-7 vehicles with his conclusion: “So I don’t love running half throttle, but it’s in the driver and team’s hands to make the most of it and use some sort of strategy to get to the front.” 

It seems like accountability is a key value in Tyler Reddick’s life. He will need more of it. In case, he clears his path to the Championship 4 leaving a lot unhappy in his tire smoke. But with the Cup Series moving to a road course next weekend, can Tyler Reddick conjure himself some Playoff magic–for his race team, but most importantly for Denny Hamlin, who will need some better news with how heavy his head has been recently?