Kyle Busch’s frustration with NASCAR’s Next Gen car boiled over this weekend. The two-time Cup Series champion unloaded on the sport’s ongoing short-track struggles, targeting controversial option tires and standardized parts for watering down competition.
Busch’s critique clashes with peers like Denny Hamlin, who argue that recent tire changes have improved racing. As NASCAR heads to Martinsville, the debate over innovation versus parity intensifies.
Kyle Busch Blasts Option Tires as Short-Track Band-Aid
Busch’s disdain for the Next Gen car’s impact is no secret. Since its 2022 debut, short tracks like Bristol and Richmond have lost their edge, with passing becoming a rarity.
“The racing has definitely not gotten better with the Next Gen at short tracks,” Busch told Frontstretch.
“Why that is? I don’t know. We tried different aero packages, we tried different tires.”
Has the racing improved on short tracks with the Next Gen car?@KyleBusch: "No, the racing has definitely not gotten better with the Next Gen at short tracks." #NASCAR
📹@PitLaneCPT @stephen_stumpf pic.twitter.com/A4Dr6W0PN8— Frontstretch (@Frontstretch)
The option tire, a softer compound designed to increase wear and strategy, became Busch’s latest target. NASCAR limits teams to two sets per race, but he argues even that fails.
“When everybody’s on the same stuff, you all fall off within the same five laps of one another. You can save your stuff a little bit,” he said. “But, with the pace and everything being so tight, half a tenth is a lot. If you’re running within half a tenth of somebody and trying to preserve tire, it’s about near impossible to do.”
Busch’s frustration stems from homogenized parts. With teams mandated to use identical components, setups converge.
“Eventually, everybody is going to figure out how to attack this car and what makes it go fast,” Busch said.
“There’s only one way to skin the cat. The more we go, it’s gonna get even tougher, with guys being good at these tracks and passing becoming even harder.”
Denny Hamlin’s Counterpoint and the Tire Fall-Off Divide
Not all drivers share Busch’s gloom, though. Denny Hamlin credits softer tires for reviving short-track action.
“The tire has helped quite a bit,” Hamlin said after Phoenix, where option tires enabled comebacks like Ryan Preece’s 33rd-to-10th charge.
“The changes that we made in the tires, creating more tire fall-off, is absolutely the equation that we’ve been searching for, wanting, and we’re finally getting it.”
Hamlin’s stance mirrors Chase Elliott’s. “Seems like it’s better, large in part to the tire,” Elliott admitted.
Yet, even Hamlin balks at expanding option tire use. “I’m just too old school to tell you that I want options for tires,” he said. “It’s another way the best car won’t win.”
The divide highlights NASCAR’s tightrope walk. Softer tires add unpredictability but risk turning races into caution-dependent gambles. Joey Logano’s early option-tire gamble backfired at Phoenix, leaving him 13th despite leading 81 laps.
Meanwhile, Hamlin insists progress is real. “Every racetrack we’ve talked about this year and it being a better race,” he said, citing increased passing.
“Me and Dale (Earnhardt) Jr. believed for the longest time that Goodyear has the keys to NASCAR Cup Series racing. It’s evident that we were right because we’ve got tire fall-off.”
As Martinsville looms, NASCAR’s identity crisis persists. Is parity worth sacrificing the driver ingenuity that once defined short tracks? For Busch, the answer is clear. For others, the tire debate is just beginning.