HOMESTEAD, Fla. — The Gen 7 car has been in the Cup Series since the start of the 2022 NASCAR season, but it is unlikely to be shelved in the near future.
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NASCAR CEO Steve O'Donnell has indicated that the series will continue to fine-tune the Gen 7 car instead of turning the page to what is next.
"I think it's important to look at what changes can you tweak along the way," O'Donnell said during the annual State of the Sport address. "But for us, we want a sustainable model for the industry.
"A Gen 8 or a Next-Gen car comes with all kinds of costs and all kinds of different things, so I'm confident in our guys and the industry and the OEMs to tweak what we have where necessary, but also be pretty confident in our drivers going out there and having the ability to go win races and put on some pretty darned good competition."
The Gen 7 car is one that NASCAR has continued to update since its first introduction in 2022. The bodies have changed, as have the aero packages and safety features. The horsepower has increased at certain tracks while the spoilers have shrunk on superspeedways.
Goodyear has worked in tandem with NASCAR to provide softer tires that will potentially improve the racing at intermediates and short tracks.
NASCAR hasn't sat idly by during the first five years of the Gen 7 era. O'Donnell says that this will remain the case moving forward into 2027 and beyond. He believes that the racing is strong, but he also indicates that more changes should happen.
O'Donnell also pointed to the broader industry landscape when discussing Gen 7 vs. Gen 8. He said that the sport had "limited ownership" and that no new OEMs entered the sport before the Gen 7 car's introduction.
He believes that the move to this car changed the situation and made the sport more "sustainable" for existing and potential team owners.
"So I think it's important to go back and look at the Next-Gen car and why it was put together," he said. "You have a different model. You have many new owners that have come into the sport.
"You have an ownership landscape that is much healthier than it was before. You have Dodge entering the sport. You have other OEMs who are looking at it."
These comments don't mean that Gen 8 will never happen in NASCAR. The sport will continue to evolve, especially with discussions taking place about the engine regulations used in the Cup Series in the next decade.
Just don't expect to see a new car model beginning wind tunnel tests anytime soon.
