NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin has been very vocal on social media platforms. He has never shied away from making his point on various burning issues. With his 31-year-long experience in the NASCAR premier series, Martin has often called out some decisions made by the company.

From 1981 to 2013, Martin carved out an incredible career on American tracks. Though a championship title eluded him despite close calls in 1990, 1994, 1998, and 2002, he made a remarkable comeback in 2009 that reignited his legacy. Driving for Hendrick Motorsports, Martin gave one of his best performances.

Martin won five races and finished 14 times in the top 5. One of his most iconic runs was in Michigan when he clinched victory despite starting from 32nd place. However, Martin recently triggered a huge Horsepower debate among fans while reacting to one of his racing clips from the 2009 season.

The Horsepower debate which often haunts NASCAR

Reacting to one of his qualifying clips from the 2009 season Martin posted on X; “I loved qualifying. And man, that car was fast in 09.” His comments fuelled an already boiling debate about horsepower in NASCAR. Fans pointed out the lack of HPs in today’s car by comparing it with 2009.

Notably, since its inaugural race in 1948, NASCAR has been all about high-performance engines. The team’s hunger to show their dominance mainly focused on the engine performance. In the 50s NASCAR was dominated by Hudson Twin–H which produced up to 200 horsepower.

Soon things changed when the Cammer 427 by Ford took the charge in the 1980s. This legendary engine used to produce up to 600 horsepower. Fast forward to 2014 when the introduction of the electric fuel injection system raised the horsepower limit to 900 HPs. In testing, this engine produced one of the top speeds in NASCAR history, i.e. 217 MpH.

However, in 2015, a controversial decision to make cars more competitive NASCAR capped the engine power limit to 750 horsepower. More shockingly, it was further reduced to 550 horsepower in 2019 before being raised to 670. This decision left fans and drivers alike fuming.

Fan fume at NASCAR as Mark Martin recalls ’09 car

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As soon as Mark Martin called his 2009 Hendrick Motorsports car fast fans started comparing it with modern era cars. Fans slammed NASCAR’s obsession with reduced horsepower as one user said, “Man I miss cup cars having b—-s under the hood.”

Another fan pointed out the sound of pre-next-gen cars by saying, “The Next Gen’s have a nice bass to them, but the high-pitched tone that came from these cars was great.” It’s worth noting that the Next Gen or Gen-7 car was introduced by the sanctioning body in 2022.

Long-time NASCAR fans have often complained about the lack of engine sound, which now has become a bit softer. One user pointed out the same by saying, “One lap qualifying. All out. High HP. The car is loose. High pitch noise. The crowd going crazy. High speed. Man, this was a fun time. Sometimes, simple is better.”

Despite these comments, NASCAR is in no mood to take a step back. Earlier this year, NASCAR’s Chief Racing Development Officer John Probst revealed that the sanctioning body is in no mood to add horsepower. He pointed out implications, especially with the rise in cost.

“If you add the horsepower, you add the cost, then you see if it is better. There’s no guarantee you get there, and it would be any better. And I think there’s some evidence that shows as we add horsepower, they run further apart. There are some that show it’s better … and there are some other shows no, might not be. So that’s a heck of a gamble to take with the entire industry,” Probst quoted per FoxSports.

However, fans and drivers like Joey Logano have continuously advocated for higher horsepower. Three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion had said, “We want more power. It increases tyre wear. It makes the track wider. And it’s more bada–,” He further pointed out that this decision is not coming from the driver’s end. “I don’t know where it all comes from; to be honest with you, I think there’s I don’t know who leads the low horsepower band, but I could promise it was not the drivers because I think every one of us wants to have more power,” Logano had said. 

NASCAR’s bid to reduce overall cost has currently limited the horsepower cap to 670. The demand to increase the horsepower, especially for short tracks, is currently in the back seat for the sanctioning body. However, Mark Martin’s post has once again fuelled the debate and it may turn the tide in upcoming seasons.