“Comes With All Kinds of Costs”- Steve O’Donnell Rejects Next-Gen Replacement Talks in Favor of Strategic Tweaks

The Next Gen car was supposed to fix NASCAR’s short-track problem. At Bristol in 2025, Kyle Larson led 411 of 500 laps. Nearly five seasons after the car debuted with promises of closer competition and a level playing field, the short-track product is still the loudest complaint in the garage. Even NASCAR insiders have questioned whether it delivers the action fans expect. Steve O’Donnell is now weighing in on the road ahead.

“The facts, when you look at those compared to other sports, are pretty strong. So I think it’s important to look at what changes can you tweak along the way. But for us, we want a sustainable model for the industry, a Gen 8 or Next-Gen car comes with all kinds of costs and all kinds of different things,” Steve O’Donnell said at the annual NASCAR State of the Sport news conference.

His message is clear: NASCAR would rather improve the Next Gen car than make teams prepare for another expensive transition. He believes the current platform still has enough potential, particularly with new owners entering the sport and Dodge preparing its Cup Series return in 2027.

There is a reason NASCAR is reluctant to abandon the car so quickly. When the Next Gen project began taking shape in 2019, controlling costs was one of its biggest objectives. Under the previous generation, teams invested heavily in designing, building, and developing their own components. Smaller organizations struggled to match the engineering resources of established teams.

The new model introduced common parts and a single-source supply system, while changes such as independent rear suspension, 18-inch wheels and a sequential transmission gave the Cup car a major technical overhaul.

The first season offered NASCAR some evidence that the approach could work. The 2022 Cup Series campaign produced 19 different winners, including five first-time race winners. The common parts also helped newer organizations enter the competition without having to build the same extensive development programs as established teams.

O’Donnell has repeatedly pointed to the financial situation before the Next Gen as a warning. In an April 2026 appearance on the Door Bumper Clear podcast, he said team spending had become unsustainable and that NASCAR needed a car that could curtail those costs.

But competitive parity did not automatically translate into exciting racing at every venue. Short tracks and road courses became major talking points during the car’s debut season. O’Donnell acknowledged the criticism in November 2022, agreeing that NASCAR needed to improve the product at those tracks. Rather than suggest a new car was necessary, he discussed aerodynamic testing at Virginia International Raceway and Richmond, along with possible changes to shifting. A year later, he was still considering tire, gearing, and underbody adjustments, explaining that simply increasing horsepower was not an easy fix.

The criticism did not disappear. The 2025 Bristol spring race became another example, with Kyle Larson leading 411 of 500 laps. Denny Hamlin argued that the car’s grip and limited horsepower made passing difficult, reigniting calls for a different short-track package.

NASCAR had already been working on a broader solution, announcing a significant adjustment for 2026: increasing the target horsepower from 670 to 750 at road courses and oval tracks shorter than 1.5 miles. That change demonstrated the kind of targeted intervention O’Donnell is now defending.

Safety has also required changes. Kurt Busch’s crash at Pocono and Alex Bowman’s crash at Texas in 2022 resulted in concussions, prompting NASCAR to redesign sections of the rear chassis for 2023. The revised clips were intended to absorb more energy during rear impacts. It was another instance of NASCAR modifying the existing platform rather than replacing it.

Still, the cost argument is not entirely straightforward. The Next Gen reduced the need for teams to develop individual components, but it did not eliminate financial pressure. During the 2025 antitrust trial, NASCAR executive John Probst testified that the sanctioning body had spent approximately $14 million developing the car. He also said wind-tunnel testing cost teams between $60,000 and $70,000 per day. The figures underline how expensive technical development remains, even under a more standardized model.

That is why O’Donnell’s latest comments matter beyond the question of when Gen 8 might arrive. NASCAR is trying to maintain a platform that has attracted new ownership and renewed manufacturer interest, while giving teams room to improve the racing product.

That is why O’Donnell’s latest comments matter beyond the question of when Gen 8 might arrive. NASCAR is trying to maintain a platform that has attracted new ownership and renewed manufacturer interest, while giving teams room to improve the racing product.

For O’Donnell, the priority is to make the current car better without asking the entire industry to pay for another clean-sheet design.

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