Steve Phelps reveals NASCAR’s looking at evolutionary “changes” in the Xfinity and Truck Series

NASCAR President Steve Phelps revealed the possibility of new changes in the Xfinity Series and the Truck Series to attract new OEMs in the future. He also mentioned that they would continue to "fine tune" the cars, iterating on the NextGen in the Cup Series.

The 2022 season of the Cup Series witnessed the debut of the NextGen cars, shifting from the traditional four-speed transmission to a sequential five-speed one. Many other major changes were noted such as advanced aerodynamics. These cars were also designed to attract new Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) as the production cost is lower in these cars.

Speaking during the Race Industry Week webinar, Steve Phelps revealed that NASCAR's tier 2 series, the Xfinity, might notice some changes in the coming seasons as well. He is hoping to bring modifications to the cars that could potentially attract more OEMs.

"I think we’ll continue to fine-tune what that car is," Phelps said, via sportsnaut.com. "And it’s an industry-wide thing. It’s not just, ‘Hey NASCAR’s going to do this, this, and this.’ It really is working with our (manufacturer) partners, working with Goodyear, working with our race teams. And we’re in constant collaboration with those groups, with those stakeholder groups."

Phelps further mentioned the same for the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series as well.

"You know, I think there’s some other opportunities for us in the lower series to make some changes. What those look like, I don’t know, but we’ll keep iterating on the NextGen car. I think we’re looking at some things in the Xfinity Series, nothing to announce now. I think there’s some things we need to do with our race teams in the Xfinity Series as well as (the manufactures) that are existing and potential new OEs that could be in that series and in our Truck Series."

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Steve Phelps claims NASCAR witnessed "terrific" racing in the 2024 season

Discussing the competitiveness of the NextGen car, Steve Phelps claimed that the 2024 Cup Series season was one of the best in the sport's history with multiple close finishes and winners throughout the season.

"I always start with things on the racetrack and I don't think. Um, and you think about 2024 It certainly didn't disappoint. Um, I thought the racing was arguably the best racing that we've ever had. In our, in our history. And I don't think there's hyperbole in that at all. I mean, you have 3 of the closest finishes of all time top 7 3 in 1 year alone."

While many fans criticized the playoff format after Joey Logano won the championship in Phoenix with the lowest average finish for a title winner in history, Phelps claimed that the playoffs had "compelling" storylines and witnessed "terrific" racing.

"Just the most compelling, tremendous story lines, but the racing was terrific. At every single race uh in that 10 Race playoff system. So I I I was very happy with the on-track product."

The playoff system is criticized as many feel that it prioritizes drama over racing. The elimination system can sometimes deprecate consistent performance throughout the season with the smallest of mistakes.