NASCAR will increase horsepower to 750 for the Cup Series in the 2026 season for tracks shorter than 1.5 miles and road courses, NASCAR president Steve O’Donnell said on the Dale Jr. Download on Oct. 8.
That engine horsepower increase will include Nashville Superspeedway, the 1.33-mile concrete oval.
The horsepower returns to pre-2019 levels before the ill-fated drop to 550 horsepower that damaged the quality of racing on most track styles, notably at intermediates.
The NASCAR Cup Series is currently racing at 670 horsepower at most tracks, and 510 horsepower at Daytona, Talladega and Atlanta.
Several Cup Series drivers have been adamant in the NextGen era that the horsepower number needed to increase, with the added caveat that more can still be done otherwise to help the quality of racing in present-day NASCAR.
Short-track racing has suffered more often than not in the NextGen era. But the change is altogether slight, about a 12% increase in horsepower.
“Why not 800? Why not 1,000?” O’Donnell said on the podcast. “So if you look at where we are today, where we can go without completely changing over the industry.”
“….If you went beyond 750, we looked at almost $40-50 million cost to the industry. So, if you look at our job is, yeah, you want to make a call right away. But you have to think about the out years.”
O’Donnell mentioned that Dodge, Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota liked the slight increase but want to look into a new engine design that could lead to more changes.
He also said that there will be a tire test at North Wilkesboro in early December to provide information to Goodyear for tires in 2026.
NASCAR has been undergoing changes in all forms in the 2020s, most notably with the NextGen race car in 2022 and the scheduling transformation. The sanctioning body is also considering a change to the playoff system, according to multiple reports.
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