$65M-worth Denny Hamlin outlines one ideal change for the Next Gen car with a genie’s wish

While speaking about the controversial Bristol night race, Denny Hamlin shared his suggestion on how to improve the Next Gen car. The driver believes the rear end should be raised to create better and closer racing.

Denny Hamlin is a 54-time NASCAR Cup Series winner driving the No. 11 Toyota Camry at Joe Gibbs Racing. Outside race weekends, the 43-year-old veteran hops on his Actions Detrimental podcast along with co-host Jared Allen.

In the latest episode, Hamlin, who is worth $65 million according to Celebrity Net Worth, shared what he would like to change in the Next Gen cars if Genie granted him a wish.

“So I think, personally, we got to get the back of the cars up, put a larger spoiler on them, to where that’s where the downforce is being made,” Hamlin stated. [0:53]

He added that changing the ride height and adding a larger spoiler should help trailing cars follow more easily.

“Then the second place car will be able to take air off of the leading car and manipulate them.”

According to the Toyota driver, the ride height at the front of the Next Gen cars is higher than optimum. While the setup allows air to scoop to the underbody designed to create downforce, it doesn't release air as efficiently as Xfinity cars for trailing cars.

With his suggestion, air would flow from the overbody to the downforce-generating spoiler, creating more streamlined air for cars behind. In turn, drivers could get closer and make a pass easier. However, Denny Hamlin understood how much work this change can demand, especially for the manufacturers.

This topic follows the Bristol night race where drivers struggled to make a pass. Kyle Larson dominated the stage after leading the field for a whopping 462 laps. He also won by 7.088 seconds over Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliot in P2.

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Denny Hamlin’s crew chief criticized NASCAR’s Next Gen car after Bristol

During a post-race interview at Bristol, Chris Gabehart, Denny Hamlin’s crew chief, voiced his opinions about the Next Gen cars. Gabehart argued that the cars, introduced in 2022, were “too easy to drive”, affecting the quality of the stock car racing league.

Speaking with Matt Weaver, the No. 11 crew chief said:

“It’s too easy to drive, they [the cars] are too close, and you’re not gonna ask for much better racing. I’m sorry, you’re not.” [at start of video]

“The bottom was good, the middle was good, the top was good, but they’re all separated by .0-nothing. And physics is a buffer...and, y''know, these are the world’s best stock teams and drivers. If you don’t give them enough ways to separate themselves, that’s what you're gonna see.”

Despite his comments on the Next Gen cars, his driver finished 4th, enough to punch his way to the Round of 12.

However, JGR teammate Martin Truex Jr., who was penalized for speeding on pit road, couldn’t bring his car back to the front to keep his playoff run alive due to difficulties in making a pass.