Kevin Harvick expects NASCAR to take 'a big swing' with short track package test

While he’s now retired, Kevin Harvick still has a role to play in NASCAR. If he’s right, we could see improved short-track racing next year. There were some improvements this season. I really do think when a team or two got the setup just right, the racing was decent to good.

So how does NASCAR get that racing to be great? Short tracks are the lifeblood of stock car racing. NASCAR has been working and there is another test scheduled for Phoenix in December.

Kevin Harvick talked about the test with Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the Dale Jr. Download. He believes NASCAR is going to make big changes.

“I think they’re going to take a big swing at it, I think they’re going to take a big swing at it at the Phoenix test and really try to wrangle the short track system back into where it needs to be,” Harvick said. “The short track package.”

Harvick was asked about the tires and things. At some point, it feels like the engines will have to be addressed.

“Well, I think that the tire’s definitely involved in a lot of it,” Harvick continued. “But I think a lot of times what has happened is um, we go softer on the tire and the tire goes faster and lasts longer. So then it confuses everybody. ‘Okay we made the tire softer, we put more heat in the tire, but the tire went further. And the tire went faster, last longer, and fell off less. So I think everybody is wanting to go back to the drawing board and wanting to take bigger swings at it. And I think they need to take bigger swings at it. … I just don’t know if there’s enough power in the racecar.”

Kevin Harvick disagrees less horsepower means fewer costs

The big sticking point for the 550 horsepower package in the Next Gen was to lower engine costs. Teams want to make more money, spend less money, and be more profitable, if at all possible. So, NASCAR obliged with less horsepower.

Less power, less stress, more life on the engine. At least, that’s the idea. Kevin Harvick doesn’t seem to agree. In the same podcast episode, Harvick made a point about the costs.

“The engine bills didn’t go down. Yeah, you can test for that. The engine bills have not gone down since they went to these rules because now you’re looking for one horsepower. Well, looking for one horsepower is actually more expensive than looking for 10 when you’re in the windows that you’re in. So it really isn’t cost-effective to keep taking power out because you’re looking for smaller increments to make gains.”

We’ve seen the short-track package now for two years. There have been some improvements. I’ll be honest, I think I enjoyed Martinsville, Richmond, and Bristol this season. Phoenix was also an improved race with the new package and adjustments made.

Kevin Harvick believes NASCAR is going to try and make a dramatic change. However, that likely won’t include changes to the horsepower. Engine manufacturers would need about a year to develop a new package.