Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson’s crew chief think out loud over ways to improve NASCAR’s Next Gen car

Kyle Larson and Denny Hamlin’s crew chiefs, Cliff Daniels and Chris Gabehart, respectively, shared their insights on the Next Gen cars and proposed enhancements for diverse track types. Daniels recommended that NASCAR focus on refining the aerodynamics of cars, while Gabehart advocated for the removal of the large diffuser and medium-sized spoiler.

The conversation started as Daniels posted on X to discuss the aerodynamic variances among the Xfinity vehicles. He observed that, in contrast to older and Xfinity cars where a trailing car could impact the aerodynamics ahead by altering its nose-down and back-up dynamics, the Next Gen cars operate on a wholly distinct principle.

In these newer models, the trailing car would be unable to significantly manipulate the airflow to affect the leading car’s bumper. Kyle Larson's crew chief noted:

"Chew on this. Old car and current Xfinity, the trailing car can move the leading car with air. Nose down and back up. G7 racing is nose up and back down and trailing car cannot scoop or pack air towards the leading car bumper."

He suggested:

"We can work on this to allow trailing car to “move that guy”. Yes tires and HP are in the equation, but we have lost that dynamic in G7 car."

Reposting the message from Larson's crew chief, Chris Gabehart, contributed his thoughts. He wrote:

"Add another wise nugget to the pile. One other thing I'm surprised hadn't been mentioned by now is Bristol had the big diffuser on it and the medium-sized spoiler on it. Legacy reasons... but it's gotta go. It's definitely wrong for Cliffs point and short track racing overall."

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Kyle Larson's crew chief, Cliff Daniels, believes that a chaotic race does not equate to a quality race

Cliff Daniels, in a discussion with SiriusXM NASCAR, mentioned that while the spring race might have appeared more thrilling to fans due to its chaotic nature brought about by softer tires, he did not share this sentiment. He found the more recent Bass Pro Shops Night Race to be a purer form of racing. Daniels explained,

"There were multiple lanes- high, low, middle on the bottom. To me that's a really good expectation for a good race of this car where there's not much margin in the car and to walk away and say Goodyear needs to give us something that's just gonna create pure chaos. As a competitor, I couldn't disagree more."

He further expressed his opinion that although NASCAR and Goodyear are likely to introduce various options aimed at creating disparity in the field to heighten the entertainment value for fans, the primary objective of the Next Gen cars was to ensure parity. He noted that now, with so much parity already achieved, the focus has shifted to creating disparity with the tires.