The Next-Gen NASCAR’s characteristics make it too difficult to pass normally during races.
It is no mystery that the current generation of NASCARs is too reliant on aerodynamics. The concept of dirty air, that is, the turbulent air behind a fast-moving NASCAR, has become an important part of driver training in the Cup Series. Bump drafting and contacts are a regular occurrence in NASCAR. But the way the new cars and their aerodynamics are designed makes these cars more sensitive to the little fluctuations than the previous generations.
The transition from mechanical grip to aerodynamic grip has its own challenges. Mechanical grip pushes drivers to the limit, and they are in full control of how the car behaves. Whereas, in aerodynamic drip, even small variations in the body’s design and sudden erratic movements can cause the car to completely lose control. The aerodynamics also provide an unfair advantage to the drivers in front. Once a driver passes a car, there is hardly any chance left for the said car to catch up unless there is an incident involved. So drivers tend to block very aggressively, causing unwanted pileups and incidents.
Alex Bowman believes this caveat is only going to prove more annoying
Now, it’s a fan’s personal opinion if they believe NASCAR is more aggressive than before or not. But logically speaking, the sport has indeed become more prone to incidents. There are many factors involved, but it is mostly concentrated on the type of racing being promoted by the sport. With new safety devices, drivers are starting to take the risks that they wouldn’t earlier and go the extra mile when they try to shake up the grid and make moves for overtaking or disrupting the rhythm of other racers. Speaking about the same, Alex Bowman believes that the upcoming generation of drivers will have it far worse than 2026.
“I feel like every generation probably has just evolved through. I am sure in the early 2000s it was more aggressive than it was in the 90s… So it is just continued to get more and more aggressive. When I came to Hendrick Motorsports, there was so much give and take,” Bowman explains during his interview with SiriusXM radio.
“That is all gone… For the most part, you are just going to get run over, moved out of the way, or manipulated with air. And never get a break back on any side of it. Everybody is super aggressive at blocking these days.”
Bowman himself has sustained multiple injuries over the years in the Cup Series. One might say that his injuries also define the way his stint at Hendrick Motorsports ended the way it did, and he never got a real chance to claw back in the championships. But he also raises a subtle question at NASCAR. Is this the direction that they want to provide to the sport?
