Th NASCAR Cup Series went to Darlington Raceway with a different package than normal. Instead of the traditional 670 horsepower, NASCAR brought the short-track package to Darlington instead with 750 horsepower. It was a massive success, as the racing was pure and there wasn’t much struggle in passing.
Following the weekend, NASCAR vice president of race communications Mike Forde discussed the racing in the Cup Series on Hauler Talk. While additional horsepower is unlikely in 2026, the door is open for the 2027 NASCAR season.
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“We just felt that you look at the mile-and-a-half races, and I think everyone’s in agreement that it’s the best racing we have, and so let’s not fix what’s not broken,” Forde said. “We don’t want to hurt something that we all feel is pretty good. I think this is more of a 2027 situation, so what we have for the remainder of the year, we’re going to stick with that. At the end of the season, we’ll look at Darlington, Nashville, Gateway and the short tracks and see how they raced, and how the mile-and-a-halfs raced, too. Because every single year, the teams catch up to the car and fine-tune it, and that affects the racing.”
The response to NASCAR’s new package at Darlington was very positive and the drivers were pleased with the racing on the track. There might not be any changes for the rest of the 2026 NASCAR season; however, the sport would benefit from a universal raise of horsepower at all tracks in 2027.
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This article originally appeared on Motorsports Wire: NASCAR will consider raising horsepower for 2027 Cup Series season
