NASCAR Executive Says Power Bump 'Something We're Discussing Daily'

Horsepower. It’s been a buzz word in NASCAR for quite some time now.

According to Senior Vice President of Competition for NASCAR, Elton Sawyer, the sanctioning body is not only listening but actively discussing the possibility of bumping up the horsepower for the NASCAR Cup Series vehicles.

In a weekly appearance on ‘The Morning Drive’ on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on Tuesday, Sawyer discussed with Mike Bagley and Pete Pistone the due diligence that the sanctioning body is performing to see if this is a viable option.

“It’s on the table. We are working closely with all the stakeholders in the industry, and as I said the collaboration has been better than ever in our sport, on all topics.” Sawyer said on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “This particular one, had a team owner council meeting last week came up, we discussed that.”

In addition to the team owners, and several of stakeholders within the industry, Sawyer also says that NASCAR has begun having some discussions with engine builders, to see exactly what kind of work and changes would need to be made to make this a viable option.”

“I know John Probst [Senior Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer] has had a conversation with our engine builders to see what we could do, and how that would look and what changes would need to be made,” Sawyer added.

“As we talked about before, there’s the efficiencies that come with our rules and regulations that we have today, and if you look at engines and sealed engines, there’s a lot that goes into it and it’s a tall mountain to climb, but we’re willing to do that and give our race fans the best product.”

Doug Yates, CEO of Roush-Yates Engines (the primary engine builder for all Ford Performance teams in the NASCAR Cup Series), said earlier this month in an interview with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio that an increase from 670 to 750 horsepower “wouldn’t be that much of a change for us” in terms of their processes and procedures.

So, where exactly in this process does NASCAR stand? Nothing is necessarily concrete yet, but the discussions have certainly ramped up to the point where a horsepower bump remains one of NASCAR’s top-billing topics.

“Behind the scenes right now, there is a lot of conversation going on. How can we do that? Where do we do that? Is it across the board? Obviously, that’s not going to be on superspeedways. It’s just a lot to digest, but what I will say is it is on the forefront, it is on the table, and something that we’re discussing daily.”

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