Chase Elliott Declares Increasing Next-Gen Cars Horsepower Is “Worth a Shot” for NASCAR

Hendrick Motorsports’ 2020 Cup champion Chase Elliott ha shared his thoughts on the Next-Gen car horsepower debate at Nashville Superspeedway.

Chase Elliott Declares Increasing Next-Gen Cars Horsepower Is “Worth a Shot” for NASCAR

Chase Elliott (Via Imago)

One of the biggest topics of discussion since the start of the Next-Gen era, has been the horsepower. The current car that has 670 hp has failed to produce regular opportunities for drivers to pass on the track and this has inspired drivers, as well as teams, to demand an increase in hp to make racing great again. NASCAR most popular driver Chase Elliott has given his thoughts on the topic.

The Hendrick Motorsports champion isn’t that invested on the topic like many of his counter sparts such as Denny Hamlin and Bubba Wallace. But Chase Elliott does sees positives in the latest talks within NASCAR to increase the 7th Gen can horsepower to at least 750. The big concern though is if the engine manufactures are willing to make the changes.

I’m not super in-tune with what those numbers are or like what’s being talked about as far, as how far they want to go with it. So, I don’t know that I’m super educated on kind of what’s possible, what’s even true or not true. I think it’d be worth a shot, you know, if the engine manufacturers are willing to do it.

Chase Elliott said at Nashville Superspeedway Media session.

Hence NASCAR has to ask the uncomfortable questions and have the negotiations with the manufacturers. They have to consider both longevity and reliability of the engine, alongside design adjustments to the 7th gen car, if the are willing to make the horse power increase, as the teams have to use the engines for at least three events.

And that’s probably going to be a question for them, truthfully, because they’re going to dictate how much power we can give the current packages that we have and still have the longevity and the reliability we expect to have because I think we have to run them three times.

Chase Elliott added.

Chase Elliott is losing ground on popularity contest to Kyle Larson

One of the biggest advantage Chase Elliott had on his rivals is his massive legacy fan base that has earned him the Most Popular Driver Award every time since 2018. But over the last few years, his teammate Kyle Larson has been slowly reducing the gap, with his strong performance on the track and by building more rooted connection with fans.

Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson
Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson (Via IMAGO)

One of the latest examples of Larson taking over is him leading the latest NASCAR merch sales. He was able to dethrone Elliott, due to his multiple racing ventures and the separate fans bases he has built over the years. Talking about the accomplishment, he admitted that he is proud to become that leader on the front.

Yeah, I mean, I think it’s something that is cool. And I’m just going to be proud of it because Chase Elliott is the man when it comes to fans and merch. But [I have] obviously had a couple of years of double and stuff. I think that’s why the merch stuff. But yeah, either way, it’s cool.

Kyle Larson said.

The comment from Larson shows he much he respects his teammate and understand how valuable is dethroning him is, in terms of becoming more popular. It would be interesting to see how long it would take Elliott to get back on top or will it become the new normal.

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