“We don’t want to hurt something that we all feel is pretty good.”
NASCAR has introduced a new rules package on select tracks for 2026. NASCAR Cup Series cars now have increased horsepower on short tracks and road courses. Select larger tracks like Darlington, Gateway and Nashville will also see the new package in use.
The former package was just 670hp at all the tracks above in 2025. For 2026, it’s been increased to 750hp.
This is a move that drivers have been called for, for years. And now, NASCAR is stating that the horsepower increase could come to other larger tracks as well.
NASCAR says horsepower could increase at more tracks
“We just felt that you look at the mile-and-a-half races, and I think everyone’s in agreement that it’s the best racing we have, and so let’s not fix what’s not broken,” Mike Forde said via the ‘Hauler Talk’ podcast.
“We don’t want to hurt something that we all feel is pretty good. I think this is more of a 2027 situation, so what we have for the remainder of the year, we’re going to stick with that.”
“At the end of the season, we’ll look at Darlington, Nashville, Gateway and the short tracks and see how they raced, and how the mile-and-a-halfs raced, too. Because every single year, the teams catch up to the car and fine-tune it, and that affects the racing.”
NASCAR officially increases horsepower for the 2026 season
List of track with increased horsepower in 2026
Bowman Gray Stadium
Circuit of the Americas
Phoenix Raceway
Darlington Raceway
Martinsville Speedway
Bristol Motor Speedway
Watkins Glen International
Dover Motor Speedway
Nashville Superspeedway
San Diego Street Course
Sonoma Raceway
North Wilkesboro Speedway
Iowa Speedway
Richmond Raceway
New Hampshire Motor Speedway
World Wide Technology Raceway
Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course
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