Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Ross Chastain Has 2-Word Response To NASCAR Cup Series Change

Originally posted on The Spun | By Chris Rosvoglou | Last updated May 31, 2025 4:10 PM ET

Love him or hate him, Ross Chastain is always going to stay true to himself.

Earlier this week, NASCAR SVP of Competition Elton Sawyer discussed the future of the Cup Series. Much to the delight of fans across the country, he said increasing the horsepower for every car is on the table for the future.

Chastain, who won the Coca-Cola 600 last weekend, was asked about NASCAR potentially making changes to the Next Gen car. Apparently, he's not interested in talking about horsepower.

When this topic was brought up to Chastain, he quickly replied, "Don't care." Eventually, the Trackhouse Racing driver revealed why he doesn't want to discuss horsepower with the media.

"I don’t know what we need, what we should do, and I just don’t put any thought into it," Chastain said, via On3. "Whatever power the car has on track, I’ll feel and I’ll react to. The Xfinity car has a carburetor, it has truck arms, has a narrower Goodyear Eagle. The Cup car has a transaxle, an independent rear suspension, and wider tires. So, whatever they want to do.

"They can accomplish the feat 'more horsepower' with either more horsepower in the engine. They could adapt a new tire, they could build a new tire that is narrower, less rubber on the road, they could change the suspension, they could do so many things aerodynamically to give us less grip if they want us off throttle. Sure, if Elton wants to talk about it, okay, whatever. I don’t… It’s like, I’m just going to go try to win the race. So, don’t care."

Dale Earnhardt Jr. would most likely side with Chastain on this topic. He recently turned heads with his comments about horsepower. m

"I’m telling you, even with all of that (horsepower talk), I still want them to try and work on getting rid of the shifting," Earnhardt said. "I do not think that even though they are getting to where it’s second nature to them to shift, having to drive into a corner and downshift and then do another shift on the next straightaway, doing that for every single corner, for 500 laps at Martinsville, right? That takes away from your processing on how to set the corner up, how to set up the car in front of you, how to make a difference in the corner."

Only time will tell if the Cup Series increases horsepower for the 2026 season.

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: