NORTH WILKESBORO SPEEDWAY, N.C. — High humidity and close confines at North Wilkesboro Speedway will certainly be a storylines entering Sunday night's race, but many drivers remain more concerned about a recent change to the cars.
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How will they adjust to the new front and rear bumpers as they battle over 450 laps? These short track bumpers no longer have energy-absorbing foam. They also have modified bumper struts, meaning it will potentially be much easier to damage the critical components of the car.
"I mean, all the foam is gone," Ryan Blaney said ahead of Cup Series practice. "It's just body work, so they're gonna be pretty flimsy, for sure. I was fortunate in the previous generation car (Gen 6) that that was what it was.
"You had to be really, really careful with the nose and the right side and stuff like that, so I feel like I have some experience on you have to really be mindful of that stuff.
photo credit: NASCAR
"Some guys, I think, who have only driven this (Gen 7) car, they didn't get to experience that in the other car, but that stuff is gonna be flimsy, so you're really gonna have to be careful on stack ups, laying the bumper to somebody," Blaney added.
Drivers throughout the garage made it clear during Saturday's bullpen session that they know that they can significantly damage their cars if they just dive into the corner and lay the bumper to someone.
They also know they can inadvertently sustain damage on restart stack-ups. What they don't know is how hard of a hit these updated bumpers can take.
As Daniel Suarez said, the drivers can't be as impatient or aggressive as they have been with the updated bumpers. He thinks it's a good change to make.
Denny Hamlin is still trying to figure out how hard of a hit will ruin the front of the car. He heard it's very fragile. pic.twitter.com/WAaJKqEGp2— John Newby (@JohnNewby_) July 18, 2026
"I tried to get some information from the team of like, is it a 2-mph impact that's going to crush the front end?" Denny Hamlin said. "Is it (5 mph), is it 10? They seem to think it's going to be pretty fragile."
The confusion continued past the rain-delayed 50-minute practice session on Saturday night. The drivers spent their time on track looking on the different lines they could run, figuring out how their cars handled the changing conditions, and determining the amount of tire wear.
These drivers stayed away from each other, so they did not test the new setup. They had no need or desire to use the bumper while completing laps,
This means that they will enter the Sunday night race still seeking some clarity about the extent of damage they can do to their car during the course of a run.
"I think it might even be worse than the Gen 6 because it's going to kill the engine," Christopher Bell said. "Like, you lose all the airflow to the injection, so you're going to lose a lot of horsepower if you get nose damage.
"So from that standpoint, I don't know that it's going to knock you out of the race, but it's certainly going to hurt your competitive day and your competitive chances."
But while the drivers don't exactly know the extent of the damage, many have expressed happiness over the change.
The big change for the Cup Series race at North Wilkesboro are the updated front and rear bumpers without the absorbing foam.
For some drivers, this is a more extreme version of the Gen 6 car. They know they can ruin their day completely if they take too hard of a hit. pic.twitter.com/OqAsSuJpOS— John Newby (@JohnNewby_) July 18, 2026
They indicated that these short track races have gotten a little out of hand and that these changes will give them a chance to take a breath during the race.
The changes will provide some potential respite from the hard hits that hurt their heads, and it will force them to respect their cars more.
"We've joked about it being bumper cars at times because it's just a little bit of pinballing around," Chris Buescher said. "I think about my early years in Cup cars, and I think about going to Martinsville for the first time.
"Everybody telling me, like, 'Look, drive into Turn 1 first lap, do not be on someone's bumper. It's going to stack up, you're going to knock the nose off. Do not!'
"Sure enough, it happened right in front of us, watched them all check up, and a couple people's day was significantly impacted right away."
The first true test of the updated bumpers will be at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday. TNT and truTV will provide coverage for the first Cup Series points race at North Wilkesboro Speedway since 1996.
