Spire Owner Uses HMS Star’s Recent Struggles to Call Out NASCAR’s Craze for Parity

The sole purpose of the Next Gen car was to bring the entire field together in a close pack. NASCAR has been able to succeed in its mission by forcing teams to buy parts for the race car from a single source. Well, the parity aspect can be seen in the close finishes we have had this season, two photo finishes in just 13 starts.

For instance, it’s hard to see Kyle Larson repeat his heroics of 10 wins from his 2021 championship-winning season. The new race car has surely allowed opportunities for lower-tier teams or newcomers to compete for wins. And guess what, teams like Spire Motorsports and FRM have managed to make the most of parity racing.

However, despite this new style of racing working in favor of Spire, the co-owner of the team highlighted a major flaw that comes with it. Jeff Dickerson, during the recent episode of Dale Jr Download, highlighted William Byron’s struggle in Kansas. In making his case on just how the level playing field has impacted the trend of racing in the Cup Series.

Parity racing, a double-edged sword

Qualifying and a better track position is vital than ever before with these Next Gen cars. Unfortunately, Byron, who has locked his playoff spot with three wins, has found himself in a tough spot with the last couple of races at Kansas and Dover. At the Kansas event, he found himself starting on the tail end of the field after an abysmal show in qualifying. The next thing you know he just wasn’t able to make passes during the race and finished 23rd.

Dickerson, using Byron’s example, shed light on how racing has changed in recent years. “I mean, there’s no bad cars anymore. It’s tough because it’s the same car and it’s the same pieces. Like you’re really fighting for millimeters, set-ups, and stuff because it makes a difference… It’s way more important to execute when you are on top of each other. You know, like you saw the 24 car start at the back, and I don’t know whether he did make it all the way up to the front.”

Luckily for his team, this parity racing has been getting the job done. Particularly with their young driver, Carson Hocevar, who has found himself competing inside of the top 15 positions. “I mean, we have our moments. I thought Carson was a legitimate top 10 car, top 12 car at Kansas, and we could say that we know it’s working because we can say that after how many races we have had. It feels like we’ve had really good cars and maybe like a top-15 car,” Dickerson added.

However, the 2024 season has proved to be a big change and has challenged the idea of parity racing. At least, the powerhouse teams like Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing have managed to differentiate themselves from the rest of the competition.

Is parity racing starting to fade in 2024?

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The 2022 season saw a record 19 unique winners; this was the first season with the Next Gen car. A somewhat similar story unfolded in the 2023 season, as it featured 15 different winners from 10 different teams. However, 2024 is not following the trend of the previous two seasons. Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing are performing in a league of their own, with their star drivers competing for wins every weekend.

Daniel Suarez, Tyler Reddick, and Brad Keselowski are the only winners who are not from the two teams. Kyle Larson and William Byron are leading the charge for HMS, whereas Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr are keeping up with their fierce rivals. Intermediate tracks have been a strong suit for NASCAR’s winningest teams, whereas JGR has dominated the short-track events so far.

It’s fair to say that modern-day NASCAR racing has evolved a lot with the new race car. And surely, there will be more trends popping up as teams and drivers get familiar with the Next Gen car.