Steve Phelps: NASCAR exploring changes to Xfinity Series car
Three years are now in the books on the Next Gen Cup Series car. Is NASCAR going to change the Xfinity Series car now? President Steve Phelps is hinting at changes coming to the secondary national series.
For all of the great intermediate races we have seen in the Next Gen car, there have been snoozer road courses and short track races. Just put you to sleep boring.
Meanwhile, the NASCAR Xfinity Series seems to put on a show at every track, every week, and the young up-and-coming talent makes it exciting for viewers. Cup Series drivers wish that they could have the physics of the Xfinity car in their series.
Speaking to Brad Gillie as part of Race Industry Week 2024, Steve Phelps mentioned potential changes. He has no news to share yet, but it is something the sport is starting to look at.
“I think we’ll continue to fine-tune what that car is. And it’s an industry-wide thing. It’s not just, ‘Hey NASCAR’s going to do this, this, and this.’ It really is working with our OEs [manufacturer] partners, working with Goodyear, working with our race teams. And we’re in constant collaboration with those groups, with those stakeholder groups.
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“You know, I think there’s some other opportunities for us in the lower series to make some changes. What those look like, I don’t know, but we’ll keep iterating on the Next Gen car. I think we’re looking at some things in the Xfinity Series, nothing to announce now. I think there’s some things we need to do with our race teams in the Xfinity Series as well as OEs that are existing and potential new OEs that could be in that series and in our Truck Series.”
While I understand change has to happen, NASCAR has to be careful. The NASCAR Xfinity Series is in a great place right now. It is essentially the College Football of stock car racing.
The drivers are not the most elite, at least not all of them like in the Cup Series. These cars allow drivers to learn, make moves, and even mistakes. Also, it does things aerodynamically that the Next Gen car struggles with.
So, no update right now. But don’t be shocked when NASCAR decides that 2026 or 2027 is the year the Xfinity Series makes a big change to the cars on the track.