Brad Keselowski Spills the Beans on NASCAR’s Plans to Increase Next-Gen Cars Horsepower to 750

Brad Keselowski revealed the positive effects of NASCAR aiming to increase the Next Gen car's horsepower to over 750 HP in 2026.

Brad Keselowski Spills the Beans on NASCAR’s Plans to Increase Next-Gen Cars Horsepower to 750

Brad Keselowski (via Imago)

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The Next-Gen Cars in NASCAR have received a lot of criticism and backlash since they were introduced in the 2022 season. The sport’s aim with the next generation of cars was to improve safety and cost efficiency, all while providing great racing action.

However, the Gen 7 cars have seemed to fail miserably on multiple fronts as Brad Keselowski remained a common critic of the regulations. Now, Keselowski has talked about how to increase the horsepower in the Next-Gen Cars to over 750 HP.

The Next-Gen cars have a base horsepower of 670 as compared to the higher numbers of the previous generation of cars. Drivers complained about the lack of grip and the feeling of driving underpowered trucks on the track in the Cup Series.

As such, NASCAR has already put forth its ambitions to tackle this challenge and potentially introduce improvements to the car and increase its horsepower to around 750 now. Brad Keselowski opened up on the upcoming change to the Next-Gen cars, as he hopes to receive many more such additions to make the car driver better.

Keselowski insisted that NASCAR was finally going to change the rules next year and allow 740 or 750 horsepower in the Gen 7 cars. However, the RFK Racing star noted that the change wasn’t a complete 100% increase compared to this year.

The reason is that the current cars, although underpowered, were still producing power of around 690 horsepower while racing on the track. Even though an increase of around 60 horsepower does not seem much in theory, it will hopefully bring the racing pack a lot closer on track during races. Now, time will tell if this endeavor turns out to be successful for NASCAR and if their ambitions are fulfilled.

Well, you know, it looks like NASCAR is going to change the rules next year to where we’re like 740, 750 [horsepower], It’s not quite 100, because, you know, right now, technically, they’re at 670, but realistically, they’re like 685, 690, so.

Brad Keselowski said on the Stacking Pennies Podcast.

Brad Keselowski relates lack of horsepower to increased tire wear on track

The Next-Gen Cars having lower horsepower caused drivers to burn their tires more, and caused further problems down the race. Brad Keselowski asserted that he was team horsepower, as he always pushed to have more and more power in the cars, effectively helping drivers manage their tires better.

Brad Keselowski
Brad Keselowski (Via IMAGO)

Brad Keselowski pointed out that drivers who did not have nuanced throttle management always pushed the cars too hard and ultimately wore their tires out a lot. This was a big problem at tracks like Bristol, where tire wear is already high due to the banking of the circuit. Keselowski believes that the younger drivers will have an easier time with tire management after increasing the horsepower of the cars racing on the track.

I am definitely team horsepower. You know, you look at races like Bristol where the tires wore and you couldn’t do that, and I was like, ‘Oh, these guys are in a heap of trouble.’ You know, particularly the younger drivers that never had to drive anything that required throttle control, they just, you know, burn them off.

Brad Keselowski noted.

NASCAR is looking at brighter days ahead, especially as they are now readily listening to the drivers and the community. The pinnacle of stock racing is ready to promote changes and actively improve the sport’s overall quality, increasing its appeal to wider audiences. Brad Keselowski will continue to remain an active voice on the matter and keep pushing for positive changes in the sport.

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