Since the introduction of the Next-Gen car was introduced to the sport in 2022, the sport has been straggling to produce solid races in the short tracks. Many drivers have urged NASCAR to increase the horsepower to make racing better by providing more chances to pass cars on the track. Now, 2020 Cup Series champion Chase Elliott has given his verdict on the demands and had offered a unique perspective to it.
The No:9 Chevy driver has the technical expertise only a few could afford in the Cup garage regarding the engine debate. He grew up in a racing family and has witnessed firsthand his father, ex-Cup champion Bill Elliott, built engines to race in NASCAR. Chase Elliott pointed out that the best solution for the issue would be to remove the regulation around the 7th Gen car that could stop the production of inefficient engines and result in production of reliable ones.
I do know from what little bit of knowledge I do have on engines is that the way that we run these engines with a tapered spacer, we're making them about as inefficient as you can possibly make them. These things unrestricted would have more power. Chase Elliott told Bob Pockrass ahead of the Bristol Food City 500.
The 28-year-old elaborated that due to multiple homologated parts in the engine, the heart of the cars is inefficient and is unable to produce the maximum amount of power out of the given machinery. This is impacting racing as turbulent air is impacting racing more than ever in the series with the advent of downforce-generating flaps, racing is already suffering badly in this era.
Chase Elliot provides a solution for the reliability issues in Next-gen cars
The Next-gen cars are known for their gas-guzzling nature. Moreover, the engines consume a lot more fuel to produce mediocre amounts of power which has been affecting the lives of the engines in the current era. Following this, the former champion has devised a way to solve this pestering problem.
I think with that you'd certainly have to have parts. I don't think those parts would cost any more than what they cost now if you bought the right ones to withstand that type of horsepower from a reliability standpoint. Chase Elliott said.
The Hendrik Motorsports driver elaborated that if certain parts from the engine compartment are removed, then the engines could be more optimized and made under less stress through the races. currently, a typical NASCAR engine lasts only two races before it needs to be replaced.
More must-reads: