At its very essence, NASCAR has always been about testing the limits—both of the vehicles and the men behind the wheels. Richard Petty himself constructed his reputation on the shoulders of high-speed, high-drama racing, and he knows better than most why the sport is compelling.
The King has never been afraid to speak his mind about the state of the sport. As fans complain about racing today, Petty thinks the answer to getting everyone excited again is easy: more horsepower and more speed.
The King’s simple solution can’t be ignored by NASCAR anymore
Petty has seen it all in NASCAR. He remembers a time when the sport’s biggest names weren’t just stars but gladiators, pushing their cars to the very edge. He recalls races at Daytona and Talladega where the draft was a tool, not a necessity, and the fastest car often dictated the pace. “We’d go out there, and if you had a strong car, you could break away,” Petty reminisced in an interview years ago. “You didn’t have to worry about everybody stacking up behind you, waiting for someone to slip.”
The more we can do to make it exciting is give it more horsepower, so they’ll go faster,” Richard Petty recently explained. “The faster they go, the harder the driver must remain on his toes. And when you’ve got cars racing 200 miles per hour as opposed to 185, all the drivers aren’t qualified to run that speed that close to one another.”. So that’s the first thing to actually differentiate the cars, because that’s the way it used to be. His words reflect the feelings of many veteran fans who nostalgically remember the days when raw speed and driver talent contributed more to the results of races. The current package, which restricts horsepower and encourages closer racing, has resulted in greater parity but also greater frustration among drivers and fans alike.
Dale Inman, a legendary crew chief who was closely associated with Petty, also had his say on the state of NASCAR today. His gripe? Fuel mileage tactics taking over the sport. “The gas mileage thing, saving gas, that just changes the speed we’re racing now, and it’ll change Atlanta some coming up Sunday, too,” Inman noted. “I wish there was some way they could give them enough gas where they could run to the stages and it didn’t affect the saving fuel stuff.” This follows the increasing frustrations of fans who believe that fuel tactics have stolen the thrill out of races. Rather than drivers taking their machines to the brink for the full race, they now save their fuel, with long periods of less intense driving.
The horsepower-and-fuel debate is no new thing. Most long-time NASCAR fans nostalgically remember the days when automobiles thundered past the backstretch at uncontrolled speeds, pushing not just the equipment but the sheer ability of the drivers themselves. The era of today, with its emphasis on cost-saving measures and safety precautions, has certainly altered the sport. Yet as thrill begins to ebb, Petty’s plea to go back to the roots of NASCAR grows louder.
While safety is always a top concern, finding a balance between competition and thrill is essential. Might NASCAR look at adjusting the existing rules? If Petty and Inman are any guide, many feel it’s time to return to the sport’s high-octane roots. For the time being, the discussion rages on. But one thing is certain: the demand for higher speeds and fewer fuel-saving measures is increasing, and if NASCAR is to regain the magic of its heyday, it will have to improve the superspeedway package.
Denny Hamlin shares a vision similar to Petty
In response to Ryan Preece’s wreck, Denny Hamlin expressed anger towards NASCAR’s modern superspeedway package, which he feels dictates pack racing and aggressive driving leading to violent wrecks. “Let’s be a little sensitive with these ‘knee-jerk reactions’ because they’re why we were able to go 175 mph on these race tracks and it’s why we’re wrecking each other so hard,” Hamlin said during his Actions Detrimental podcast. “I’d rather have us go 200 mph with a bit more room and it would be safer. I am telling you it would be.”
Both Petty and Hamlin cite the unforeseen effects of NASCAR’s efforts to control speed and safety. Hamlin contends that modern downforce-oriented, spec cars compel drivers to pack race, where they are forced to bump, push, and fight hard for position. This, in turn, produces a hazardous, high-stress situation where huge wrecks are inevitable.
Preece’s wreck, in which his car flipped several times, rekindled the debate on safety. But Hamlin cautioned that the true peril wasn’t the flip so much as it was the abusive landing. “When he stated that this crash was tougher on him than the flip, I would concur 100%”, Hamlin commented. “Any time your car comes down straight on the underside, I mean, it is a backbreaker. It’s the crash, not the flip.”. The flip is going to get all the air time, but when his car crashes back onto the ground, I don’t know how hard that hurts. It is actually bad for the spine.
Both Petty and Hamlin realize the importance of safety but think NASCAR needs to reconsider its strategy. The sport improved much in 1994 with the use of roof flaps to eliminate airborne crashes, but Preece’s bone-chilling accident confirmed that additional innovation is essential. Hamlin maintains that rather than responding to each high-profile accident with added limitation, NASCAR must work to further hone the car’s aerodynamics and energy-absorbing materials in order to keep drivers safer without reducing the sport’s excitement.
If NASCAR really does listen, we might witness the revival of superspeedway racing on high banks of Daytona and Talladega.
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