Since its debut in 2022, NASCAR’s Next Gen car sees no relief from the heated debates and controversies around its functioning. Whether it’s the handling, horsepower, or the tire wear, it has mostly been scrutinized than praised. One such important, or rather problematic, element in this list is the Next Gen’s aerodynamics. And like many others, Dale Earnhardt Jr is also here to tell you everything that’s wrong with it.

During Tuesday’s Dale Jr Download episode, the veteran opined about the playoff race at Kansas Speedway, “The only thing that I don’t love — look, that was a good product, that was a great product on the racetrack this weekend — the one thing I do not love about the Next Gen car is how bad the air is when a car gets behind another car. We saw a couple moments in that race where they’re all trying to avoid each other’s wake when they go down in the corner, like you’re behind a guy on the straightaway and you’re thinking, ‘Alright, is he going low or high because I’m doing the opposite’.”

“That’s the way all of them think as they’re going down the straightaway, I’m gonna do the opposite of the guy in front of me. But you gotta get clean air under the center of the car, and sometimes we’ll see, and we saw it in this race, they’ll make the wrong choice and boy, they have to jump out of the gas because they go into the corner following a car, they have no grip and they get out of the gas and lose all of this momentum,” he then said.

Notably, when a driver’s behind another, what the Next Gen does is that it releases its turbulent or dirty air, which disrupts the airflow of the car behind it, messing up the downforce balance for the driver. re. He saw it again at Kansas, particularly in the corners.

His comments explain how drivers fear the issue so much that it forces them to take a precautionary step of choosing the opposite side of the car in front, so they don’t align in their path and fall prey to the aero trap. His co-host, TJ Majors, added to that anxiety, stating how they, as spotters, too, often give a clearance sign to the drivers when they see two racers stuck bumper-to-bumper, knowing that they’re about to split and make way.

Hence, to keep a good grip, drivers try to find clean air by slightly moving to the side, so the air hitting their car is smooth and undisturbed.

If not followed, the consequences can be disastrous. “Saw it at Indy with Bubba coming across the nose of Erik Jones, that was a great example of what I do not love about this car. I see that phenomenon with the aero a time or two in each individual race and it grinds my gears,” Dale Jr then added.

During the Indy race, Bubba Wallace drove across the nose of Erik Jones, and he drove so close that he intruded into Jones’s front line, which disrupted Jones’s airflow. This upset his balance, and Jones didn’t just lose his grip but also his front wheel, showing how dangerous being in someone’s wake or getting squeezed like that can be due to Next Gen’s aero.

For now, these aerodynamics continue to challenge drivers, making clean air and smart positioning more crucial than ever on the track. But while the Next Gen’s aero issues are a headache, it looks like there’s at least some comfort coming in from another aspect of the car.

NASCAR to increase the horsepower?

Since the time Brad Keselowski appeared on the Stacking Pennies podcast and hinted at the horsepower boost by NASCAR, fans haven’t been able to keep calm. On the show, he confirmed about a major horsepower update for 2026, “I am definitely Team Horsepower… It looks like NASCAR is going to change the rules next year to where we’re like 740-750.” 

Managing Director Mike Forde also hinted that changes are coming for 2026, including a potential return to a full-season points championship. “The next step is NASCAR is going to get its leadership in position and really have a discussion and lock ourselves in a room and figure it out from there.” Connect Keselowski’s comments to this, and a horsepower shoot-up doesn’t seem far away now. On the latest Rubbin’ is Racing podcast, co-host Spider praised NASCAR’s willingness to adapt, “I think it’s great. I think it’s important that NASCAR is willing to make changes…there’s been a lot of rumors recently, whether it be testing higher horsepower, changing the playoff format.” 

Of course, a big reason for this could be NASCAR’s goal to focus on going back more to its roots, catering more to the traditional fans who’ve been long dissatisfied due to a ton of reasons. While the hints from Keselowski, Forde, and Spider point toward exciting changes in the coming season, ultimately, only time will tell what NASCAR changes and what it doesn’t.