Let’s dive into a debate that gets the garage hotter than a summer day at Daytona! The push for more horsepower in the Next-Gen Cup cars. Ever since NASCAR rolled out the seventh-generation car in 2022, drivers, teams, and fans have been locked in a tug-of-war over its 670-horsepower V8 engines, a far cry from the 800-plus ponies of the Gen-6 era.
The horsepower hunger isn’t just fan chatter—it’s a rallying cry from the drivers who wrestle these machines every Sunday. Veterans like Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson have griped that the Next-Gen’s low power makes passing a slog, especially on short tracks where drivers can’t lean on brakes or tires to out-drive rivals. For the most part, NASCAR has turned a deaf ear whenever the demand for more power grew, but something has changed recently. NASCAR SVP of Competition, Elton Sawyer, stated that increasing the horsepower on Cup cars is on the table and is being discussed daily. It looks like there finally seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel.
But this update provided an opportunity for Kyle Busch to rub one in NASCAR’s face and dropped a cheeky jab that has caught everyone’s attention.
Kyle Busch isn’t waiting for NASCAR’s approval to enjoy a bump in horsepower
Kyle Busch just tossed a grenade into NASCAR’s horsepower debate, and it’s pure “Rowdy” style. In a slick Instagram reel, Busch stands next to a sleek C8 Chevrolet Corvette, grinning like a kid with a new toy. “You want something that’s got more horsepower than a Cup car? And screams freedom? You want one of these! A C8 Chevrolet Corvette. How cool are these things, man?” he says, hyping the Corvette’s 490-horsepower V8—ironically less than a Cup car’s 670 but packing a punch in street-legal form. “Boyd’s OBX Chevrolet in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, they’ll set you upright,” before joking about taking the Corvette to the racetrack.
It’s a playful ad, sure, but the dig at NASCAR’s Next-Gen cars is crystal clear: even a street car feels freer than the underpowered Cup machines he’s forced to drive. Busch’s smirk says it all—NASCAR’s got a problem, and he’s not letting it slide. This isn’t Busch’s first time beating the horsepower drum. The two-time Cup Series champion has been vocal about the Next-Gen’s limits. “We need these things to be faster going into the corner; utilizing the brakes more; utilizing the tires more and having the opportunity to overdrive the cars more to burn the tires up to see guys struggle over a run,” he told reporters last year.
He’s not alone. Denny Hamlin has been an advocate for more power to the engine. “It is hard to pass because we are all in the gas so much. You have to get us out of the gas, whether through the tire or the horsepower.” Initially, NASCAR cited rising costs as one of the reasons for not making these changes. But Doug Yates, who heads Roush Yates Engines, claims that this change can be done with a minor tweak, and the deteriorating short-track and superspeedway racing, NASCAR is open to this idea. While the 900 range horsepower increase would be too ambitious, bumping it from 670 to 750 is well within the ballpark.
Now we all know Rowdy hasn’t been able to adapt to this new race car, and apart from those three wins he bagged in 2023, his performance has been on a decline. Despite the positive updates of NASCAR actively looking to find a solution to the Gen 7 problem, the RCR star doesn’t seem sold on the enthusiasm, and that was evident from his Instagram update. But as far as on-track racing goes, Rowdy once again had a weekend to forget, with yet another disappointing finish to a points race in Charlotte.
The #8 RCR team is headed in the wrong direction
Busch’s horsepower shade comes hot on the heels of a brutal Coca-Cola 600, where his No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet limped to a 15th-place finish. Reflecting on Charlotte, Busch sounded like a man fed up, telling reporters, “I feel like a broken record.” Once again, the ghosts of the past came back to haunt the #8 team, be it pit road blunders or mechanical mishaps.
“We got the pump changed and were able to make a qualifying lap but had to change the rack and go to the rear for the start of the race on Sunday. We were tight in dirty air. Crew chief Randall Burnett made some changes and got it running better when I heard a loud pop. Something broke, and we’re still not sure what it was,” Busch said after the race.
This result comes at a time when RCR extended Busch’s contract until 2026, with the hopes that they will turn a corner for good. The former JGR driver has now gone five races straight without a top 10 finish, and this was another opportunity where the #8 failed to capitalize. Right now, Busch is placed 19th in the playoff standings and as long as his team only contests for points, he will remain in the mid-pack battle. Hopefully, they have enough time to find their rhythm before it gets too late; another year without a win and a playoff for Kyle Busch would be a nightmare scenario.
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