Kevin Harvick Declares 2026 Next-Gen Car Horsepower Increase Would Be ‘Unnoticeable’

Since the introduction of the Next-Gen cars one of the major demands from the drivers to fix the issues with passing was increasing horsepower. NASCAR finally decided to listen to then and has announced the from 2026 it will be increased to 750 from 670. But like Kevin Harvick, many are not satisfied with the announcement.

In the latest episode of the Happy Hour podcast, 2014 Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick shared his thoughts on the situation. He is happy with the change and believes it is the step in the right direction. The veteran like many in the sport is waiting for the feedback from the drivers on the situation, as it juts 80 hp increase.

Well, I think that I’m happy that they did it. I think it’s at least a step in the right direction. I think that listening to the feedback from the drivers, they don’t notice the difference in the power. Which, it’s 80 horsepower, on paper. So, 80 horsepower, and I think that says a lot about the amount of increase that it actually needs.

Kevin Harvick said on Happy Hour podcast.

The ex-Stewart Haas Racing driver believes the small increase is NASCAR just looking into how much increasing horsepower can affect the sport and see how the car will evolve with the change. While he appreciates the change, he is skeptical about the impact it will have just like 2021 Cup champion Kyle Larson.

Now, there’s the counterargument for how much it would cost for everybody to go more horsepower than this. So, my hope is that they’re looking to go more horsepower down the road as they look at how things evolve. But I don’t think we’ll – I’m happy that we did it. Kudos to them for giving the cars more horsepower. I don’t want to knock it. But I don’t think anyone will notice.

Kevin Harvick added.

Why won’t NASCAR increase HP beyond 750 like Kevin Harvick wants?

The president of NASCAR, Steve O’Donnell has recently addressed questions surrounding why the increase didn’t go beyond 750. He pointed out that an increase beyond that point would have cost the industry almost $40-50 million and NASCAR has the responsibility to reduce the financial burden on the teams.

If you went beyond 750, we looked at almost $40-50 million cost to the industry. And so if you look at our job, it’s, yeah, you want to make a call right away. But you’ve got to think about the out years.

Steve O’Donnell said.

Furthermore, he pointed out that, the decision to cap the increase was also made keeping the sports future in mind, with Dodge coming into the sport next-season and multiple other OEM’s showing interest. Any big change is going to cost the industry $100 million if not planned right, with long term vision.

We’re looking at Dodge coming into the sport, we’re looking at other OEMs coming into the sport, and then our current partners. Three-year runway, we didn’t want to say, ‘Alright, it’s 1,000 now,’ and then, just kidding, three years from now, we’re changing it again. That’s 100s of millions of dollars to the industry.

Steve O’Donnell added.

The comments from the sports president seems rational as the cost of making better with hp increase shouldn’t go past acceptable limit. At the same time NASCAR has to find other ways to offset the negative effects of caping the HP increase.

Also Read: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Exposes Why Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott Won’t Score 60th Cup Race Wins

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