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via Imago

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One of the biggest issues NASCAR has faced in the past few years is their cars’ power. From fans to drivers to team officials, higher horsepower is something everyone has been crying out for. However, NASCAR simply doesn’t seem to want to go in that direction. Xfinity Series driver Parker Kligerman recently shared a picture on Twitter, outlining what everybody is calling for, echoing the sentiments of eminent entities like Dale Earnhardt Jr and Denny Hamlin.

Currently, the Next-Gen cars run with 670 hp at normal tracks and 510 hp at restrictor plate tracks. That is even less than the Generation 6 cars, which ran 750 hp on normal tracks and 550 hp on tracks that were more than a mile. 

Dale Earnhardt Jr urges NASCAR to deal with their short-track racing problem

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Power has always been a topic of debate among fans. After all, the most important thing, aside from safety, in any form of motor racing, is speed. If the cars aren’t fast enough, the action won’t be half as thrilling and will fail to entice fans. Xfinity Series driver Parker Kligerman recently shared a post on Twitter outlining this fact.

The picture was of a newspaper clipping which showed a poll in 2000. At the time, fans were asked if they would be avid watchers of the sport if restrictor plates were made mandatory for every race. A whopping 86% voted against the move, stating that it would reduce their interest in the sport. 45% said that they wouldn’t even watch the races if the cars had less power.

Sharing the post, Kligerman tweeted, “They don’t call it driver-sports or chassis-sports. It’s MOTORsports. People want power.”

The Xfinity Series driver is not the only person who has a problem with this matter. Former Cup Series driver and motorsports legend Dale Earnhardt Jr has urged NASCAR to increase the cars’ power as short-track racing has been extremely disappointing of late.

In an earlier episode of The Dale Jr Download podcast, the 2-time Xfinity Series champion said, “NASCAR has a serious problem with the NextGen Car at the short tracks, any short tracks… I am putting something on NASCAR here, man. I am really trusting them and hoping that they’re gonna fix this. They got to.”

Current Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin, who is known for his unapologetic nature, was much less subtle as he took a jibe at NASCAR attempting to cut costs and not make the cars any faster.

Read More: “Not Entirely Satisfied”- Dale Earnhardt Jr Lets Slip His CARS Tour Dejection Amidst Colossal Schedule Refresh

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Denny Hamlin bashes NASCAR’s greed as he predicts even slower engines

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In an earlier episode of the Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin echoed Dale Eanhardt Jr’s sentiments, but he put it across in a much harsher way. The 43-year-old even alleged that in order to save money, NASCAR may make the cars even slower than what they already are.

“Stop asking NASCAR for more [horsepower], they’re not going to give it to you. This is not the direction NASCAR wants to go. From the top down, they don’t want more horsepower because it costs more money. (…) If anything, they will go the other way, and make the engines even less powerful because they want them to run even more races,” the Joe Gibbs Racing driver said.

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The low horsepower engines are not something fans have been impressed with. Quite frankly, the cars don’t even look as quick as they used to back in the day. Perhaps it is time for NASCAR to take heed of these calls and do something that everyone has been calling for.

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