NASCAR has faced criticism over the years for reducing the horspower, even though it increased it to 750 this year. Kevin Harvick is calling out the sport for stripping the power out of racing engines. The former champion warned that current horsepower limits are alienating fans and drivers alike.

"Is exactly what's wrong with racing around the world. We're fighting it right now in NASCAR," Harvick said in a post published by NASCAR journalist, Jeff Gluck. "You knock all the horsepower out of it.You try to make it so that it fits in your Honda Civic so that they can build this V6 or four-cylinder. Nobody cares about that. Nobody cares."

Harvick feels fans today are not emotionally invested in whether the race car technology resembles an everyday street car. They care more about the speed, noise, and danger that accompany the racing thrill.

Following this, he spoke about the cars in other racing series like IndyCar or Hypercar. He said that IndyCar or Hypercar had much more horsepower back then, and they delivered a fulfilling experience in racing.

"When I go back and I was watching that, you know, all the Zanardi video stuff this week from Laguna Seca. And you listen to those IndyCars, and you look at the tires, and you just look at just how much rubber, and everything is laid on the racetrack. It's, it's all because of horsepower," Harvick further added.

Notably, there are talks about NASCAR further reducing its horsepower to put safety in the forefront and increase competitive racing. NASCAR achieved the reductions via tapered spacers and smaller throttle bodies to achieve tighter racing by limiting top-end speed.

But critics like Harvick feel that lowering the horsepower actually does the opposite, where it makes the cars too dependent on factors like aero, throttle, and driver skills.

While reducing the horsepower has not been the sole cause of concern for NASCAR and its fans, the recent transition to electric has also been a concern.

When an OEM threatened to leave NASCAR if not gone electric

Earlier this month, NASCAR's CEO, Steve O'Donnell, shared sensational information while speaking to former NASCAR driver Kenny Wallace in an interview. There, he shared how one of the OEMs threatened to leave the sport if it did not shift to electric from its current V8 system.

"Say, five years ago, one of our OEMs said, ‘If you are not hybrid, within the next two years, we are out of NASCAR.’ Oh, okay, so we’re gonna better start looking at that. Within a year, they said, ‘If you are not electric, we are out of NASCAR.’ O'Donnell said.

Notably, NASCAR has four OEMs now, Toyota, Chevrolet and Ford being the top three across three national series, and the new entrant RAM in the Truck Series.

As of 2026, the current Next Gen cars use the Naturally Aspirated V-8 engines, and it has yet to be seen if there is a significant change in the upcoming years.

You can read more on the Daytona Racing Digest!

Written by

Sabyasachi Biswas

Edited by

Suyashdeep Sason