Did we all see a glimpse of the future of the Next Gen car? Kevin Harvick thinks NASCAR is on the right track. The tire combination that Goodyear had for the Cup Series at Richmond produced one of the best short track races of the Next Gen era.
Kevin Harvick has driven many iterations of Cup cars. He finished his career in the Next Gen, which remains controversial for how it races on short tracks and road courses.
Could tires be the fix to the Next Gen? It feels like this same conversation was had a year ago, and yet we still have the same issues. Here is what Harvick thought on his Happy Hour podcast this week:
“I think when you look at the race and we talk about the tire that Goodyear brought and all of the strategy and the fall off and everything that went into it – it was just a traditional style looking NASCAR race, no matter what generation that you have,” Harvick said. “It’s the kind of race that you’re really are looking for. I know there’s a lot of work that needs to be done to the car, but the tire made it a lot better.”
NASCAR can’t stop at tires. There are other solutions to the problems the Next Gen car has.
Kevin Harvick wants NASCAR to go further
While talking about the Next Gen car, Kevin Harvick talked about testing. NASCAR has continued to test and make small adjustments to the car. Nothing has really made much of a difference until these short-track tires became softer.
“I think that, you know, they’ve spent millions of dollars,” Harvick continued. “NASCAR has spent millions of dollars aero-wise on this car. Changing diffusers, this and that, and everything they have going on underneath the car. … I think there are other things that can happen with the car that can move the needle. I think it’s weight, I think it’s aero, I think it’s sideforce, I think it’s power, I think the tires can still be better.
“So, I hope that we don’t wait – and being involved in this, I know how hard NASCAR has worked on it to try to move the needle, but you gotta think differently. Because the tire really moved the needle this weekend. So, it’s not just the car, and like you say, getting the tire right, really makes the difference. Maybe we need some more tire codes at these different styles of race tracks, like we used to have a number of different tires to tune it more towards each track.”
Is Kevin Harvick right? Does NASCAR need to keep searching for other ways, outside of tires, to improve the racing product?
