Connor Zilisch, Tommy Baldwin sound off on Elton Sawyer horsepower comments

Horsepower, horsepower, horsepower. Many drivers — both current and former — have called for NASCAR to increase horsepower in the Next Gen car in an effort to improve the on-track product.

Those in favor might soon get their wish. Elton Sawyer, NASCAR’s senior vice president of competition, said last Tuesday on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio that increasing horsepower in the Next Gen car at short tracks is a priority for the 2026 season. Sawyer added that the biggest challenge is determining which racetracks would get the short track increase.

Connor Zilisch drives the Xfinity Series car full-time, but he also has made select starts in the Cup Series. He knows both cars and while he doesn’t believe more horsepower is a “fix,” he’s in favor of NASCAR trying something new.

“It’s crazy, honestly. I think horsepower can help, but it’s not a fix. It’s just you can’t follow behind a guy and go through the corner with the same amount of speed. That’s just a simple answer,” Zilisch said on the Door Bumper Clear podcast. “We’ve had good races in the Next Gen era. It’s not like it’s impossible to have a good race, it’s just a lot harder to because I feel like the Xfinity cars create a show every week and put on a great race every single week. There’s good races and bad races with the Next Gen car and that’s just how it’s been all year long. Kansas, for instance — we’ve had some baller races at Kansas.

“We’ve had some really good races, but it’s missing something. I don’t know what it is, it has potential, but I want to see change. I think that’s where everyone is at is just throw something at it. I know they’re testing; I know that I’m preaching to the choir.”

Will more horsepower improve Cup Series racing?

As far back as 2015, NASCAR has incrementally decreased horsepower. Except for high-banked drafting tracks, NASCAR caps engines at 670 horsepower. NASCAR has previously argued against a horsepower increase for years. They have mainly claimed that the 670-horsepower package is set up to attract new manufacturers to the sport. There’s also concerns of cost. 

But it does appear at least a slight increase is on the table. Will that make a difference? Tommy Baldwin, Rick Ware Racing’s competition director, sees the value in more horsepower at shorts tracks such as Richmond Raceway and Martinsville Speedway.

“Not sure how much horsepower it’s gonna take to make a change,” Baldwin said. “I know they did try some stuff at New Hampshire a couple of weeks ago at a test, and they were surprised on some things that happened… I don’t think it was in a good way, which is really a surprise to me because I’m the one who’s talked about that 100 horsepower would make a difference. I don’t think it made much of a difference to move the needle, but New Hampshire’s hard. That’s a hard place to judge by.

“I think if you add that horsepower to places like Richmond, Martinsville and keep softening the tires a little bit more, you’ll see some better racing.”