The Next-Gen car’s troubles reign supreme in today’s NASCAR. From passing problems to increased parity on the racetrack, the problems are plenty. When it first debuted in 2022, safety problems emerged with Cup Series drivers like Kurt Busch and Denny Hamlin incurring concussions in crashes. While that has been resolved, the lack of aerodynamic advantages has amplified the demand for more horsepower. But complaints about the Next-Gen hardly compare to those of its predecessor.
Dale Earnhardt Sr.’s fatal crash in 2001 spurred a safety revolution in NASCAR. But in the process of achieving the most secure race car, the sport hit lows. The most significant of those low points was probably the Car of Tomorrow, as a former executive recalled recently.
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How NASCAR threw out the ‘flying brick’
Robin Pemberton’s career in the sport spanned 37 years. He worked with stellar drivers like Richard Petty and Mark Martin, scoring 26 wins in 17 seasons as a crew chief. However, Pemberton entered a new phase in 2004, becoming a top NASCAR executive. He spent 11 years as senior vice president of competition – and consequently, bore the brunt of controversy when the Car of Tomorrow surfaced. Introduced in March 2007, the COT had many flaws – an unusual front-shelf design, foam attached to the right side to absorb the impact of crashes, and the massive expenses. But the topmost point of controversy was the rear wing.
And Robin Pemberton revealed in a recent Dale Jr Download episode that he had a big hand in it. He revealed, “When I was there, we were now down into the aero part of it, which is the wing. You know the roof.” And that left Dale Jr. curious, as he asked Pemberton why it could not stay. The rear wing was not well-received. Tony Stewart called the car a ‘flying brick’. It made even Kyle Busch, who won the first COT race in Bristol, say that the cars “suck.” NASCAR officials eventually replaced the wing with a spoiler in 2012.
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So Pemberton delved into the nitty-gritty of the COT’s pros and cons. The former NASCAR official said, “The wing was good for a number of reasons, and it was bad for a number of reasons. It was good for traffic, less weight. And they got blamed for cars getting upside down. One of the reasons is with the wing, it’s not a lot of drag. So when I turned sideways, the drag didn’t go up as fast as it did with a spoiler. So lift-off speeds were wrong. There was that part of it, and then some people weighed in that said stock cars don’t have wings. They don’t have wings. Yeah, that was part of it, I hate that because we put a lot of development in.”
Despite the regret involved with scrapping a high-effort enterprise, Robin Pemberton had to take the tough call eventually. He recalled his interaction with Mike Helton, former president of NASCAR. “I’ll never forget. Mike comes up for lunch one day, and he goes, Well, I gotta tell you. We need to get rid of the wing, like we just spent a year on it. Yeah, okay. Well, I will go work on it…What do you mean? Like, asap. It took my breath. Like if you got a month or six weeks, whatever, in like it came in a hurry, you know.” Eventually, the COT went out of business. Recently, Denny Hamlin referred to its flaws to highlight the Next-Gen’s defects.
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Well, Pemberton chafed about the loss of the wing, but in the long run, it was a good call. While Dale Jr. brooded over the resolution of a crisis almost 13 years ago, he is also concerned with a crisis in the present day.
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Urging the offender to take action
Fireworks broke out in New Hampshire last Sunday. More precisely, the fireworks of Joe Gibbs Racing’s in-house drama. On lap 110, Ty Gibbs would not leave room for Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin, both playoff contenders. And Gibbs, who could not crack the postseason, fell prey to Hamlin’s aggression and spun out. Although no face-to-face encounter happened, there has been an online exchange of barbs. Hamlin called out JGR’s leadership to teach Gibbs a lesson, while the latter delivered a subtle jab. However, Dale Jr. pointed out how the first step needs to be taken by Ty. As he started the whole ordeal, he should step up.
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What is more, if Ty Gibbs does not speak up, then JGR’s unity can be in jeopardy. “This is a big teaching moment for Ty, well beyond like next week and his racing career and all of that. like how they managed this little hiccup,” Dale Jr. said. “What happened on the racetrack? It sucks. He shouldn’t have raced him like he did. He got wrecked by his teammate, Denny. All that sucks…You go into the meeting. You talk about it. Ty should, I think, stand up and say, ‘I f*cked up. Should let y’all guys go. I don’t know what I was thinking. That was foolish of me. Won’t happen again going forward in these playoffs. You got my word. I’m gonna be a good teammate.’”
With things at a standstill at present, we can only wait and see what comes of the JGR fallout. Meanwhile, NASCAR could work on the Next-Gen like they did on the Car of Tomorrow.