“The variance of speed there was crazy.” Denny Hamlin said these words after the Talladega race, noting an element of the Next-Gen car. Ever since NASCAR introduced the 7th Generation vehicle, problems have appeared and persisted. The new, wider wheel provided too much grip, and the spec, single-source parts raised parity in the field. But more importantly, the lowered horsepower of 670 HP strips drivers’ abilities to make moves. That is what bugged Dale Earnhardt Jr.
The veteran driver is a 6-time winner at Talladega Superspeedway. Knowing the 2.66-mile behemoth track by its pulse, Dale Earnhardt Jr could scrutinize the race that unfolded last weekend. A huge discrepancy got on his nerves, and that impeded crucial Cup Series leaders from moving ahead.
Dale Earnhardt Jr bashes NASCAR for its innovation
Well, pack racing is the norm at tracks like Daytona or Talladega. The aerodynamic effects of drag can result in cars bunching up together. However, the Next-Gen car makes this situation a little worse. “There wasn’t really much I could do the final five laps,” Kyle Larson lamented. The runner-up finisher could never push Austin Cindric far enough ahead of Ryan Preece on the outside to make a passing move. Similarly, William Byron was also stuck in the pack, not being able to push Preece ahead of Cindric. Preece, who finished second before the DQ, did the best he could to get the push needed to overtake Cindric. Yet he could not do so, and the Team Penske driver won the race with a 0.22-second margin. This situation caught the eyes of Dale Earnhardt Jr, who broke down his verdict.
In a recent Dale Jr Download episode, Dale Earnhardt Jr called out the Next-Gen car at the Jack Link’s 500. NASCAR’s innovation essentially limited the drivers’ capability to make moves. Dale Jr explained furiously, “There’s no gaps between cars for you to change lanes, you’re stuck…That’s awful. The racing at Daytona, Talladega with the Next-Gen, there’s some issues with the car – they need to work on ’em, they need to fix ’em. I think if they pulled a bunch of drag off the car, that would be a lot of it. When you run the car by itself, what is it, 15, 20 MPH slower?… There is the problem. When you put the car in draft, you run 195 MPH; when it runs by itself, it runs 181 MPH. It’s terrible.”
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Dale Earnhardt Jr further shed light on compromising speed for escaping the bunched-up racing. This becomes an impossible situation when drivers are in sight of Victory Lane. So Dale Jr put forward some demands to NASCAR. “I’m coming down to the white flag or coming to the checkered flag. And I’m in the second or third row. A car that runs 20 MPH slower by itself. You’re wanting me to pull out, hoping to get some help. And if I don’t, I’m going to f—— bleed speed all the way to the finish line. No way. I ain’t doing it. I wouldn’t get out of line either. When they can take the drag off the car, get the car to qualify, more realistically close to what the car runs in the draft, we’ll see a whole lot different of a show.”
Clearly, the Talladega race was less impressive than it appeared on the surface. The 67 lead changes that occurred veiled the drivers’ woes. Also, although it was a clean race, unlike Dega’s usual ventures, there was a huge chance for a wreck.
Keeping his rivals on the edge
As Dale Earnhardt Jr mentioned, the Next-Gen car limited drivers’ moves due to speed. But it also limited them due to concerns about safety. The Jack Link’s 500 was a phenomenal exception in Talladega history, featuring just four cautions, two of which were scheduled stage cautions. Despite this ‘clean’ race, drivers averted disaster narrowly at one point. With 25 laps to go, a gang of Toyota cars pitted first among OEMs, with a solid strategy of dominating the front. However, Ross Chastain threw a massive block on this group and completely broke up the momentum behind the line leader. In one move, Chastain effectively cost every single Toyota left in the race nearly 20 spots. Although the move was very effective against a rival OEM, Chastain risked chaos.
What Ross Chastain did, put faster cars and slower cars in friction in a way that could have created a massive wreck. However, that did not happen because drivers exercised skill and caution. Denny Hamlin, one of the Toyota drivers whom Chastain blocked, expressed displeasure after the race. He also pointed out that no further moves were possible due to the car, echoing Dale Jr’s concerns. “[Chastain] making a move there to kind of wreck us was not ideal…It’s just the variance of speed there was crazy. The Toyota group…We were the only ones willing to just race this thing out, run wide open and see what happens and try to make a show of it…When you’re behind the two-by-two, there’s nowhere to go, so there’s nowhere to race.”
Evidently, the Talladega race revealed the weaknesses of the Next-Gen car in several ways. Will NASCAR pay heed to the concerns of Dale Earnhardt Jr or others? We can only wait and find out.
The post “Bleed Speed”: Dale Earnhardt Jr Goes on a Ballistic Rant About NASCAR’s Next-Gen Car Impeding Talladega Racing appeared first on EssentiallySports.