“That’s the Soul of NASCAR, That Worries Me”- Insider Reveals the Bittersweet Effect on Next Gen Cars Amidst Short Track Racings Downfall

The buzz in the motorsport community is all about next-gen cars in the racing world. NASCAR has been burning the midnight oil, tweaking everything from aerodynamics to the front splitter and diffuser, not to mention mulling over gear restrictions. They’re pulling out all the stops to make these next-gen beauties shine on every track. But it’s the short tracks that are feeling the pinch.

These next-gen cars just haven’t been able to match the excitement and adrenaline rush of the Gen 6 or their predecessors on the shorter circuits. Everyone, from Dale Earnhardt Jr to the brainiest NASCAR engineers, is throwing everything they have to bring back that old-school thrill. And now, Jeff Gluck has thrown his two cents into the mix. He reckons short tracks might need a bit of a rethink, or perhaps it’s time to roll out a new car specifically designed for these tighter tracks.

Jeff Gluck believes intermediate tracks in NASCAR are great, but short-track racing needs a fix

With the advent of the Next Gen car, NASCAR’s landscape has seen a sea change. These new beasts boast wider tires, rims that mean business, top-notch brake packages, tweaked aerodynamics, and dialed-down horsepower on the short tracks. While the safety features of the Next Gen car deserve a standing ovation, Chase Elliott dubbed it “spec car” racing, with everyone zipping around at similar speeds, making overtaking a tough nut to crack.

On Kenny Wallace’s show, Jeff Gluck weighed in on the Next Gen cars. He gave a thumbs up to their performance on intermediate tracks, noting how they’ve turned these circuits into hotspots of racing excitement. But Gluck didn’t shy away from addressing the elephant in the room: the underwhelming show on short tracks.

He mused, “They [next-gen cars] end up backing into this unbelievable occurrence that I’m not sure anybody could’ve ever thought would happen, which is to make the intermediate tracks the best tracks in NASCAR. And here’s the thing where we’re having this next gen car it’s going to be particularly good on road courses and because we’re doing all these things and it’s going to be sort of almost like a sports car.”

However, talking about the short tracks, he said, “But the short checks are really concerning to me because that was like the thing you could always count on. […] Would it be possible in some universe to develop just a car that races on the short tracks, a next-gen for short tracks? And then keep your current next-gen for the mile and a half and super speedways. […] I don’t want people to lose that because that is the heart of NASCAR. That’s a soul of NASCAR. So, that worries me.”

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The Next-Gen car has been a mixed bag, with its impact evident at Bristol Motor Speedway. Races on intermediate tracks like Charlotte, Kansas, and Michigan have seen a noticeable uptick in excitement. Kansas, typically not the most edge-of-your-seat track, hosted the year’s top-rated race in Gluck’s renowned “Was it a good race poll,” earning a whopping 93.3% approval rating. This race was a nail-biter, featuring a climactic last-lap tussle where Denny Hamlin narrowly edged out Kyle Larson.

The Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte wasn’t far behind, with a solid 91.2% of voters giving it the nod. However, the story’s different on short tracks and road courses with the Next-Gen car. The last two Bass Pro Shops Night Races at Bristol have clocked the lowest number of lead changes in over a decade, with just 12 and 10, respectively. Rewinding to June 2023, when the short-track packages were under the microscope, Gluck also didn’t mince his words with some sharp critiques.

Gluck previously opined that short tracks have been falling behind

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Jeff Gluck has been keeping a sharp eye on the world of short-track racing, and he’s not afraid to speak his mind. While he acknowledged that the short track package didn’t ruffle the drivers as much as expected—they didn’t notice a world of difference in the car—he’s also tuned into what the fans are yearning for.

Gluck put it bluntly: “I think the short tracks have definitely been lacking. I don’t know how to quantify it, but I’m not getting what I want to see out of them to the point where it feels like a big step backward and it hurts because that’s what should be NASCAR bread and butter.”

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Recently, another round of testing shook things up on the short track. Ryan Blaney, the 2023 champ, noticed a significant shift, especially with the altered front splitter. Eric Jones chimed in too, tipping his hat to the standout performance of the tires. It looks like the next-gen cars are slowly but surely hitting their stride with each technological tweak and turn.