"You're seeing that on the NASCAR side also": NHRA's Antron Brown highlights similarities with stock-car racing

While on surface NASCAR and NHRA are extremely different forms of motorsports, the way the two governing bodies operate in some ways, is similar. This was something which Antron Brown recently confirmed during a podcast appearance on Dirty Mo Media.

Brown, the 2012, 2015, 2016, and the 2024 Top Fuel dragster champion is a modern legend of the NHRA. He currently drives for AB Motorsports. And, in a conversation with Kelley Earnhardt Miller, he opened up on the ways in which the two discipines of NASCAR racing and NHRA racing, are operating similarly.

Earnhardt-Miller mentioned how NASCAR has gone through the struggle of having good communication between the governing body and the teams over time. She then asked Brown if the NHRA teams have a similar relationship with their governing body in which the teams have a seat on the table with regards to certain decisions.

"Our sport has gotten very savvy on the rules and what they've done over the time, we have a pro board that we sit and talk, and we try to make the best decisions for the class whole to keep the cost down is what they try to do. So we haven't changed parts and pieces. We can't be as innovative as we used to. And you're seeing that on the NASCAR side also too. So you gotta do more with management and stuff like that. For us, it's been really good to work with NHRA on that," Brown replied. [29:00]

The 4x Top Fuel Dragster champion emphasized that the number one thing he cares about is the safety of the drivers. And then on the performance side, Brown said that they hope to increase that by making the overall car better.

Having said that, he mentioned that they make small adjustments in things like the car chassis, aero elements instead of changing the major parts or pieces.

Next Gen era in NASCAR has led to major criticism on short track racing

Ever since its introduction in 2022, the Next Gen car in NASCAR has had several issues because of which it faced criticism. One of the most recent and stubborn of those issues is the racing product on short tracks.

Next Gen car's performance in contributing to 'good racing' on short tracks was a big discussion in the NASCAR community throughout the 2024 season. But after the Bristol race in September, which Kyle Larson won after leading 92% of the laps, the degree of criticisms increased.

One of the most outspoken critics was Dale Earnhardt Jr. The former NASCAR driver claimed on his podcast that as a sport they're all bouncing back and forth regarding 'where we put the blame.' He elaborated:

“Every time we have one of these bad races – ‘Oh, it’s the tyre. Man, I think the answer is in the tyre’ and then the next week ‘Oh, it’s a car thing’. And so no one is wrong, but I’m going to say this, that race car is a sports car. That is a sports car running ovals.”

Earnhardt mentioned that the Next Gen car has Supercars-inspired elements like 'wide-ass tires', a diffuser, and a similar underbody while it races on oval tracks. He said that the Next Gen car is 'a big shift' from what NASCAR has run for the last five decades, which worked despite its imperfections and flaws.

Earnhardt added that NASCAR's current generation of racecar, while 'an incredible car', isn't suited to be a good racecar on short tracks. As for how the governing body changes it to an ideal racecar, while also maintaining the strict regulations of the Next Gen era, Dale Jr. was unsure.