The Next Gen era of NASCAR has revitalized intermediate racing but has left something to desire on short tracks. Now Samantha Busch is ready to move on to something else.
"Not just saying this bc we didn't run well but can we all agree the only exciting part of the race was watching Owen celebrate w Kyle (Larson)," Busch posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
"Can't remember a Bristol race being that blah in long time. Time to cancel this race car."
Busch, who has watched her husband Kyle win two Cup championships, made this comment after a race featuring total domination by Kyle Larson. The Hendrick Motorsports driver led 462 of the 500 laps and he swept the stages before winning his fifth race of the season.
Domination aside, the race at Bristol did not feature the excitement delivered in the spring. The tires had little wear, and there were few passing opportunities for the majority of drivers. This playoff race only had eight lead changes whereas the spring race had 54.
As expected, Busch's statement elicited a wide variety of responses. A few people said that she doesn't like the car because Kyle Busch is winless this season. Others, however, voiced support for her idea of canceling the car.
One person weighed in and said that the Next Gen car ruined Bristol, their favorite track. Another said that they would rather watch ARCA Menards Series races than Cup Series races at this point.
"When the racing is 10 times better with the (NASCAR Xfinity Series) car, I would have to agree that maybe it's this current Cup car that is making it boring on tracks like these," another person posted on X.
One NASCAR fan highlighted Kyle's stats at Bristol as the reason why they don't like the Next Gen car. To that point, the two-time Cup champion has five Truck Series wins at Bristol, nine Xfinity wins, and eight Cup wins.
However, Kyle has finished 20th or worse in the four Next Gen races at the concrete track.
Busch is not the only person to weigh in on the debate about the Next Gen car and how it specifically performed at Bristol Motor Speedway. Larson put out a long post on X on Tuesday telling the fans to stop blaming Goodyear for the inability to pass.
All this tire wear talk about Bristol got me wondering… have we ever had a lot tire wear at Bristol besides the spring of 24? Eh, not much of any. Have we seen great races there? Absolutely. Have we seen duds where Kyle Busch leads 300+laps? Sure.
From what I remember in my…
— Kyle Larson (@KyleLarsonRacin) September 24, 2024
Larson said that it has been difficult to pass at Bristol for several years and that the old wheel/tire combination got hotter as the run progressed, which led to less grip and the occasional tire exploding.
"I'm not saying I want tires to explode again but we're trying to crutch this race car on short tracks with the tire and then blame Goodyear every week cause cars can't pass," Larson posted.
The 2021 Cup Series champion added that he doesn't have the answer to the problem but that he knows it's not the tire.
"Temper your expectations. We're driving spec race cars," Larson wrote.