Christopher Bell Demands Immediate 5-Word Change Before Talladega, Months After Denny Hamlin’s Speedway Rant

Does luck determine the outcome of a superspeedway race in the Next Gen race car? The last two Daytona 500s have been determined by late-race cautions; the spring race at Talladega in 2024 saw Tyler Reddick steal the show with the entire field wrecking. Whereas, the fall race saw the biggest ‘Big One’ take out 28 drivers, allowing Ricky Stenhouse Jr. to win in an overtime finish.

Superspeedway racing used to award drivers with skill who weaved their way through uncertainty. But, in the modern era, the drivers need to dodge the bullet named Big One and still rely on luck or the caution lights to ensure a win. Denny Hamlin is one of the few drivers who have been vocal about this style of racing: “I just want to see us do something different, to put the sport back in it and take luck back out of these prestigious events.” You might not like Hamlin as a driver, but when a three-time Daytona 500 winner raises an alarm, there is cause for concern.

With the NASCAR circus arriving at Talladega, the conversation once again is about the style of racing. And this time around, JGR ace Christopher Bell has also shared his honest take on the superspeedway package, urging NASCAR’s intervention.

Christopher Bell is tired of the fuel-saving strategy at speedways

With the aero-heavy design of the Next Gen car backed by the idea of parity racing, all the race cars have to run in sync to make progress. Without the draft, no one can make any real progress. But this in turn has led to a fuel-saving strategy. Race cars in row three and back can glide their way around in the draft, and some drivers even run half-throttle, saving fuel.

The only real place where drivers can jump spots is the pit road. So, less time on pit road equals better track position. It sounds interesting, but it’s a bummer for the drivers. “Yeah, I don’t think anybody wants to do that (drive on 50-60% throttle),” Bell said in an interview. He even urged NASCAR to make changes to the rules package. “So I would really love to see, just change the rules package to allow us to race a little bit better.”

There is a trend where the most talented drivers are not getting enough opportunities to compete for wins at tracks like Daytona and Talladega. Like Hamlin, Kyle Larson has also struggled to find any joy with this package. “I don’t enjoy the racing, honestly. I don’t know if many people do. I come to these tracks; we haven’t finished well the majority of the time.”

It is indeed hard to find a pattern when you are trying to pick a favorite to win a superspeedway race. At Talladega, there have been nine different race winners. This goes to show the unpredictability of this race and its outcome. Well, if the rules package is the real issue, what is the real solution to this issue? According to Hamlin, the simple answer to this problem is an increase in horsepower.

“Change the rules package to allow us to race a little better.”@CBellRacing calls for change in superspeedway package, wishes Venturini Motorsports the best and is happy to have Cleetus McFarland at the track. pic.twitter.com/6dsghGFUWK

— Frontstretch (@Frontstretch) April 26, 2025

“I’d rather let us run 200 mph with a little more space. It would be less dangerous. I am telling you it would be… The liftoff speed is probably a concern, not just for me but for everybody. With the cars handling the way they are, you will need to single-file out to survive this race. I think that is probably not the expectation of what we want to put on for a show.” Hamlin said in the aftermath of the Daytona 500 race this year.

For the time being, NASCAR doesn’t seem interested in tweaking the power of the engine or other performance-related changes to the superspeedway package. But it looks like they are trying to add another safety layer to keep the cars from flipping into the air at such racetracks. Unfortunately, this new safety feature won’t be available at Talladega.

Kyle Busch remains unimpressed by the changes made to the superspeedway package

Ryan Preece has to be one of the luckiest drivers to have escaped two fatal crashes at Daytona. We all know about his crash from 2023, where his race car rolled multiple times, leaving him with sore eyes. But this year, he found himself almost launched into the catch fence in another gruesome crash, and this time, he was mentally and visibly shaken. “I don’t want to be the example.”

In response, the governing body is adding a new flap on the A-post on the Next Gen, which is expected to increase the chances of a car staying on the ground in a 90-degree spin by 40 to 50%. But there’s a catch—this change won’t be applicable for the race at Talladega, but late in the season at Daytona. And this delay in adding a major safety feature was appreciated by Busch.

“You would like to have anything like that as soon as you possibly could get it and have it on the race cars. Especially coming into places like this, so I would agree with the sentiment that it is a disappointment that we don’t have it yet if it’s a safety feature for us.” He said in an interview ahead of the Jack Link’s 500.

There are a lot of unanswered questions as the Cup drivers head into the race weekend at Dega. But when the race goes green on Sunday, they will be on the gas in the hunt for a win.

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