Chase Briscoe Reflects on NASCAR’s Latest Move, and How It’ll Let Drivers Make a Bigger Difference

NASCAR President recently confirmed that the Next Gen car’s horsepower will climb to 750 for the 2026 season and beyond. The boost, however, applies only to short tracks and road courses, a move that makes sense on paper but leaves larger tracks stuck in neutral, with little promise of improved racing. Still, Chase Briscoe welcomes the tweak, eager to see what even a modest power bump might bring to the table.

Speaking to SpeedFreaks, the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing driver called it a step in the right direction. “I think it’s definitely a great decision. More power is just going to make the tires wear out quicker and all those things. So it’ll definitely put a little bit more back in the driver’s hands. It’ll be interesting to see what 750 feels like versus 670, 680, whatever we’re at now. I’m sure there’ll be a little bit of a difference, but I don’t know because I haven’t ran it yet.”

He added, “So yeah, it’ll definitely be interesting. I’m definitely looking forward to doing it at some of these really wore out racetracks, like in Iowa. I saw Darlington was even on the list, which that’s exciting… It’ll be fun just to kind of get out there. It’ll really kind of reset the field, I think, a little bit… I think just having something new will certainly make it where it’s a little bit of a question mark for all the teams, and it’ll kind of re-flip the field, I think, for a little bit.”