In that 2022 debut season of the car, the Cup Series saw a record-tying 19 different winners. The races felt wildly unpredictable and wide open as teams struggled to get a handle on how best to set up their new vehicles.<\/p>\n
However, seven months into the car\u2019s life cycle, Hendrick driver Chase Elliott sounded the alarm: Teams were quickly figuring out the Next Gen, and they would only grow closer over time. When all cars go relatively the same speed, it\u2019s more difficult to pass; when it\u2019s more challenging to pass, Elliott said, \u201cyou\u2019re going to start to put more pressure on the little details to find an advantage.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Ross](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GettyImages-2217057418-scaled.jpg\")
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\n Ross Chastain\u2019s win in the Coca-Cola 600 for Trackhouse Racing was one of just three oval wins this season for a driver outside the Big Three teams. (Logan Riely \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n
And who is best at finding the little details? It\u2019s the powerhouse teams with the most money and the most resources \u2014 whether that\u2019s technology, engineering or manpower. Sure enough, that\u2019s exactly what has unfolded over the last three years.<\/p>\n
This season, there were 14 different winners, and 10 of those drivers were linked to the Big Three teams. Only three other organizations \u2014 Trackhouse Racing (two drivers), 23XI Racing (one) and Richard Childress Racing (one) \u2014 were able to find victory lane.<\/p>\n
When it came to the NASCAR championship, the Big Three also claimed all eight of the semifinal round playoff spots. The season\u2019s two winningest organizations (Hendrick and Gibbs, which combined for 21 victories) then swept the Championship 4 berths.<\/p>\n
That doesn\u2019t mean other teams can\u2019t catch up. But in the current environment, it\u2019s extremely challenging at best.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis car still provides a really good platform,\u201d Spire\u2019s McDowell said. \u201cYou\u2019ve seen us have speed and run in the top 10 and the top five. Yes, the big teams have separated themselves from an execution and a win standpoint, but the speed is in our cars to do it. We just have to put it all together.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Next Gen car requires all teams to purchase their chassis and parts from the same supplier, making them virtually identical, and the larger teams are better at consistently finding an advantage. It does not mean a smaller organization can\u2019t hit on a setup or have a great day and win a race. As Hendrick crew chief Rudy Fugle noted, there were many times this season when a non-Big Three team had \u201creally strong race cars that were as good as ours.\u201d<\/p>\n
But he added: \u201cIt\u2019s really hard to do it consistently week in and week out, like we can with a bigger team.\u201d<\/p>\n
How do the major organizations do it? It\u2019s as small as a count of downforce here, a pound removed from the car there. When those are combined from engineers poring over the minutiae of a spec car, \u201ca very small difference ends up making a big difference, especially if you stack enough of those together,\u201d Fugle said.<\/p>\n
It certainly doesn\u2019t hurt that the larger multi-car teams almost always have at least one of their cars hit on something, and that information is shared freely and openly through the organization. Some of that data trickles down to alliance partners, like from Hendrick to Spire, but not all of it.<\/p>\n
NASCAR has often said it does not want a top-heavy sport and that it\u2019s essential for the smaller teams to be able to compete for wins. Having so much of the power once again consolidated in NASCAR\u2019s elite, despite a car with the same parts and pieces for everyone, is \u201cdefinitely a trend we need to be very watchful on,\u201d NASCAR president Steve O\u2019Donnell said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost of the (teams\u2019) spend now is going through simulation, engineering, all these things,\u201d O\u2019Donnell said. \u201cThe bigger teams have more resources. Our focus as a competition group really needs to lean into that aspect of it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do the have-nots not have, and what can we do and what rules can we put in place as technology becomes more and more of a factor?\u201d<\/p>\n
Some ideas that have been floated include NASCAR allowing teams to work in certain areas of the car that are currently tightly regulated, which would encourage some innovation and create some speed variation in the field. However, NASCAR is concerned about triggering another spending war.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not lost on us that we do like the storylines of engineers and crew chiefs contributing to making their car go faster and contributing to win,\u201d O\u2019Donnell said. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of discussion going on right now about that.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut we want to do that in a really smart way so we don\u2019t open up the cost factor, and we go right back to where we were.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Denny](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GettyImages-2240670947-scaled.jpg\")
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\n NASCAR is seeking ways to boost parity, but it\u2019s not easy. \u201cWe want to do that in a really smart way so we don\u2019t \u2026 go right back to where we were,\u201d league president Steve O\u2019Donnell said. (Chris Graythen \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n
A concept that will likely be implemented at some point is a Formula One-style cost cap, limiting teams\u2019 spending per season and forcing them to allocate resources effectively.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, NASCAR is making one notable change for next season: It is increasing horsepower for road courses and short tracks from 670 to 750 (the other tracks will remain the same). Yet there\u2019s skepticism that the move will shake up the field in any meaningful way.<\/p>\n
NASCAR is challenged to balance its on-track product with the competition. It wants the races to be as entertaining as possible but also needs to rein in the garage to prevent an F1-type imbalance (only three different teams have won an F1 race this season).<\/p>\n
And in terms of the racing itself, the Next Gen made significant gains this season thanks to Goodyear\u2019s more intensive approach to softening the tires at shorter tracks.<\/p>\n
Ultimately, though, it\u2019s the Big Three\u2019s world and everyone else is just living in it. Yet even their position is precarious, given how a slight performance gain can make a driver go from zero to hero.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we say \u2018little changes,\u2019 I mean, the difference between contending for wins and running 15th is small,\u2019\u2009\u201d Penske crew chief Paul Wolfe said.<\/p>\n