"We need NextGen 2.0" - Denny Hamlin joins several NASCAR drivers in calling out Next Gen car's durability issues

The NASCAR Cup Series visited Bristol Motor Speedway for the second time this year and many veteran drivers such as Denny Hamlin spoke about the Next Gen car's performance on the half-mile-long track. The seventh generation car made its debut on the Tenessee track on a paved surface after the Food City Dirt Race earlier this year.

The Bass Pro Shops Night Race served as the third round of the 2022 season playoffs and saw drivers and teams struggle to overtake each other. Many drivers, most notably those driving Ford-manufactured cars, have also suffered critical tire degradation and failures. The new generation of stock cars also highlighted several mechanical issues throughout the field, ranging from engine failures to power steering issues.

Owner-operator Denny Hamlin was certainly not the only one to comment on the race that took place on Sunday after finishing 500 laps of the race and said:

“Passing was just impossible, It was just a type of day where you needed to stay up front at all costs and we just couldn’t quite do it and ended up having a blown tire that set us back and we were trying to play catch up from that point.”

The #11 FedEx Toyota Camry TRD driver further reinforced his claims on Twitter where he claimed the sport needed a new version of the Next Gen car, and wrote:

“We need NextGen 2.0. Just gotta figure out who’s gonna pay for it.”

See the tweet below:

Along with the Ford-manufactured cars, Toyotas also seemed to have a tough time in Bristol with all six cars complaining of various issues, ranging from tire degradation to power steering. The most notable issue for the Camry TRD came in the form of an engine failure on Kyle Busch's #18 Toyota, which rendered him out of contention from the Round of 12.

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Denny Hamlin recaps his outing at the NASCAR 2022 Bass Pro Shops Night Race

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin was one of the many drivers who complained about the lack of overtaking opportunities in last weekend's playoff race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

The 23XI Racing co-owner spoke about how track position was the only determining factor in winning the race as he spoke to the media and said:

“You know, I think we had a good car, not a great car. Not as good as practice but you know, just really just about who can get out front as we saw. Tire didn’t matter, strategy didn’t matter, it’s just whoever can get out front.”

Watch the complete interview below:

Watch Denny Hamlin compete next Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway in the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 500.