Kyle Larson contradicts NASCAR on horsepower debate: 'We can bring 1000HP next week'

As NASCAR continues to push back against increasing horsepower in the Next Gen car, Kyle Larson and others are hitting back. The Hendrick Motorsports driver made it clear that he’s been told adding power could almost be an overnight switch.

While these cars are only pushing 670 horsepower, they are capable of much more. Now, there is always a cause and effect with anything. Adding horsepower could mean a new issue with the cars that wasn’t apparent with lower power. But NASCAR isn’t making that argument. They say new manufacturers want low horsepower.

Kyle Larson went on the Dale Jr. Download to give his take on the debate. If what Larson says is true, it completely contradicts what NASCAR has been saying for the last two years.

“I feel like they’ve always used the excuse, or at least, I’ve heard the excuse of, ‘Well we’re trying to keep horsepower to where other manufacturers might want to come in.’ Well, as long as I’ve been in the sport which has been longer than 10 years, it’s been the same three manufacturers,” Larson explained on the podcast. “Maybe somebody else is coming and maybe they are the ones pushing for lower horsepower, but I’ve yet to see anybody new come in.

“All these engine builders and teams are saying it’s not going to be, it’s not going to cost any different to do it. I’ve heard our Scotty Maxim say the same thing, he’s like ‘Dude we can bring 1000 horsepower next week and it not be more.’ They’re literally taking the engine that I won with at Vegas and making it a 1000-horsepower engine to put in one of Rick’s personal cars that they’re building right now. So, they can do it.”

Kyle Larson is the latest driver to speak out.

Kyle Larson joins chorus of drivers asking for more power

It really feels like we are in a moment of change here. The new TV deal starts next year, the new charter deal, and now, almost a rebellion of sorts with drivers asking for more horsepower.

It isn’t just the fact drivers are asking for increased HPs, they are refuting NASCAR directly. NASCAR says it is about costs, Denny Hamlin comes out and says that engine bills have not changed at all since lowering power. Even Kevin Harvick has weighed in on the issue.

So, NASCAR says that it is because a new manufacturer, or hypothetical manufacturers, wants low power so it is easier and cheaper for them to enter the sport. Well, to Larson’s point, they have said that for a decade and no one has put their hat in the ring.

This isn’t to mention that folks at Roush Yates, Hendrick, Toyota, and more have all said they do not mind building more powerful engines. It wouldn’t even be that big of a deal to put 100 extra horsepower in the cars from a cost and setup standpoint.

While it feels like NASCAR has dug its heels in, the momentum is building. Fans want it, drivers and teams and engine builders appear to want more power or they admit it wouldn’t be an issue to add it.

Right now, the horsepower debate is mainly focused on improving short tracks and road courses. The racing there leaves something to be desired. And that’s really where the nuance comes in. So, how do you improve short tracks without diminishing gains you have on intermediate tracks? It’s a good question, but not an impossible one for NASCAR and their engineers.