An astonishing victory unfolded at Watkins Glen. Shane van Gisbergen outsmarted the entire field yet again by clinching his 4th victory of the season. But while living up to his road course racing talents, SVG’s run also revealed huge cracks in NASCAR’s Next-Gen car. From crossing the finish line 11.1 seconds ahead of the runner-up to making use of fresh tires, the weird aspects of SVG’s run caught Denny Hamlin’s attention.
The Joe Gibbs Racing veteran has been a vocal proponent of fixing the Next-Gen car’s issues. Recently as well, Denny Hamlin chimed with the frustration of fans at the Watkins Glen race. Although SVG is a star, Hamlin believes there is scope for more stars alongside him.
Denny Hamlin bashes parity goal
Before Watkins Glen, an unhealthy stretch of races had a peculiar commonality. Across Michigan, Pocono, Indianapolis, and Iowa, the winners relied on fuel mileage. In Iowa, William Byron stretched to more laps than expected, running at half throttle to save fuel while his faster competitors could not overcome him. That difficulty of passing sadly passed on to the Watkins Glen race as well. Polesitter Ryan Blaney led for 34 laps, but the Team Penske driver fell back to 6th place by the end. Then, Chase Elliott, a two-time winner at Watkins Glen, inexplicably broke his top-20 streak at a track where he is so strong. Then, SVG doing burnouts on Victory Lane even before runner-up Christopher Bell crossed the finish line was another nail in the Glen coffin, as Denny Hamlin believes.
Jeff Gluck’s ‘Good Race Poll’ elicited 72.1 % of votes from fans who did not like Watkins Glen. In a recent episode of ‘Actions Detrimental’, Denny Hamlin explained why. He harped on the old objective of rolling out the Next-Gen in 2022 – the car traded driver control for mechanical equality. He said, “People with a lot of knowledge have spoken about what they would do to fix the car to keep it where the leader doesn’t have such an advantage. But that’s not what the 10th-floor decision-makers wanted; they wanted parity…You want everyone to run the same speed, and whoever has the opportunity or gets out front, they can win. Regardless of their skill level, regardless of whatever…That doesn’t produce stars.”
Photo: Josh Calloni, TobyChristie.com
SVG is undoubtedly a star of road courses – but making that star invincible will hardly do good for NASCAR. Denny Hamlin continued that with Next-Gen’s troubles, SVG’s competitors will never figure out a way to topple him. “SVG, he’s the most skilled in track position – he will never be able to be overcome in these scenarios. For SVG to lose a road course race…it is gonna have to take an untimely caution that completely scr–s him out of his track position…He got to 13th one time on a restart, but he had a tire advantage over the cars in front of him…it just compounds when you put him out front.”
Shane van Gisbergen optimizes the Next-Gen’s unique aspects; however, it may not be the ideal situation for his peers and fans. It harks back to another time in the sport, as Denny Hamlin recalled.
The popularity levels have shrunk tremendously
The last time a car in NASCAR was very popular was probably almost two decades ago. Between 1996 and 2007, the Gen 4 car was in use, and that period inarguably produced thrilling stars in the sport. However, immediately after, that popularity level shrunk to an abysmal low. The NASCAR Car of Tomorrow debuted in 2007 and was an instant flop among fans, due to its boxy appearance with wings, handling difficulties, and reduced on-track passing opportunities. Drivers also complained about the car’s performance in traffic and the increased aero-sensitivity, which made it harder to overtake. Sound similar to the Next-Gen? Well, it definitely rings a bell for Denny Hamlin.
In his continuing diatribe against NASCAR’s innovation, the JGR veteran made a comparison. He said that the Car of Tomorrow and the Next-Gen attract the same audience reception, and it is not a good one. “I think that we have a fundamental car problem. It is no doubt a problem. Everyone that has ever driven it has said it’s a problem. I believe that the Next Gen car is reaching hate levels of the COT (Car of Tomorrow) with the wing. From fans — I think they’re starting to dislike this car as much as the drivers that have to drive it.”
Evidently, NASCAR needs to do something about the Next-Gen car. Discussions are in place for an increase in horsepower – so let us see if that appeases Denny Hamlin and other veterans.
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