Denny Hamlin estimates racing NASCAR Next Gen Cup cars to racing $350,000 “lambos”

NASCAR veteran and owner of the 23XI Racing team, Denny Hamlin, has pulled back the curtain on the financial realities of racing in the Next Gen Cup Series.

The Next Gen car, introduced in the 2022 season, brought with it a string of technological upgrades to replace the Gen 6 model of Cup cars which were used from 2013 to 2021.

However, debuting in the Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Coliseum last year, these enhancements also brought with them a hefty price tag, an area of financial concern for the team owners.

Speaking on the Actions Detrimental podcast, Denny Hamlin revealed the stark contrast between the initial budget estimates for the Next Gen cars and their current staggering costs. He explained,

"When we initially got the budget for the next gen cars, this was about two or two and a half years ago, the cost was right around $225,000."

Fast forward to today, and the all-encompassing figure, encompassing parts, pieces, and additional expenses, Hamlin revealed the startling cost of the Next Gen cars at the moment:

"All in right now, this is a rough estimate but... the Next Gen car, all in with parts, pieces and all the other stuff, is probably around $350,000."

"We're racing Lambos out there," he joked.

The Cup Series driver also revealed his concern for potential crashes during races, highlighting the financial damages a team owner might go through.

"I hate to say this, but at the end of the race if I saw a crash, I roll back around and I'm like 'God please don't be any of my cars.' Because I'm like, it's such a big cost."

Denny Hamlin reveals a team owner's concern amidst rising costs of Next Gen Cup cars

NASCAR Texas Auto Racing

NASCAR, over the years, has directed immense focus towards driver safety, introducing exponential measures to ascertain a safe environment, damage control, and overall protection of the drivers.

This intensified focus on safety measures, according to Hamlin, has been the driving force resulting in the rising costs. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver elaborated:

"Now, when you see the cars crashing, well it's crushing expensive ****.

Denny Hamlin continued:

"When you're slotting clips and all this stuff to make it crush, you start crushing very expensive stuff. And when you have big rear crashes, you likely will damage the most expensive part of the car which is the transaxle."

Denny Hamlin, the owner of 23XI Racing, also shed light on the financial landscape of NASCAR. He stated:

"We've only been running the Next Gen for a couple years, and it has gone up a lot since the very beginning."