Bob Pockrass advises NASCAR to hold off on Gen-8 car until Honda's move is clear

With RAM joining the NASCAR sphere next year, Honda has earned its name in the rumor mill to possibly join the field whenever the Gen-8 car is slated to make its debut. So, to possibly increase the chances of the Japanese manufacturer joining the field, NASCAR insider Bob Pockrass has urged the championship to wait and see around to get the automobile giant on board the stock car train.

Honda currently has a vast presence in the motorsport sphere as they make engines for Red Bull and Racing Bulls in the F1 sphere before moving on to build engines for Aston Martin in 2026. Moreover, they also power almost half the IndyCar grid and are present in other prestigious championships, providing their powertrains and participating in series as an OEM themselves.

On the other hand, as the Next Gen car made its debut in 2022, the talk about the Gen-8 car is ramping up in the background. But, with Honda lining up to be part of the manufacturer squad, Pockrass advised NASCAR to stay off the lingering regulation plans before confirmation from the Japanese giant arrives, as he said on Kevin Harvick's Happy Hour podcast:

"I would probably wait and see if Honda decides whether they’re coming in. All the indications we get from them is that the one thing they won't do is do both IndyCar and NASCAR. They'll do one or the other. I don't know that there's any timeline for a decision, probably in the next year or so." (30:47 onwards)

"I would want whoever’s working with these new manufacturers, with Dodge and Ram, [and] with Honda, if they come in, I wouldn’t want to; unless I felt like they’re not doing the job to get them in. I would want to have some consistency there. In that direction as far as the competition side."

Meanwhile, the Japanese manufacturer has never been a part of NASCAR in the history of its existence.

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Honda has been hinted at by NASCAR as the next manufacturer to join the stock car racing realm

Steve Phelps looking at the Bill France Cup after the 2023 season finale - Source: Imagn

NASCAR currently has Chevrolet, Ford, and Toyota as the manufacturers for the Next Gen car in the Cup Series field. But, welcoming another manufacturer would increase the diversity in the field and rife up the Cup Series battle.

Moreover, when asked about the talks with potential manufacturers, NASCAR EVP John Probst told Sports Business Journal:

"I don’t want to jinx ourselves, but I would say we are very close with one other; can’t speak for them -- obviously it’s their decision to make -- [but] we would love for them to decide to come into NASCAR."

The Gen 8 cars could hit the track sometime in the latter part of this decade, as per the previous trends, but there has been no confirmation by NASCAR about the plans as of yet.