Kenny Wallace counters Gen 7 criticism with truth on Roger Penske and other top owners’ past plea to NASCAR

Kenny Wallace recently addressed the growing criticism of NASCAR’s Gen 7 race car and broke down how and why the model came to be. Several fans and drivers have been voicing frustration with the car’s performance, particularly at short tracks like Martinsville and Bristol.

During the latest 'Coffee with Kenny' podcast episode, the former driver acknowledged the concerns but urged fans and critics to understand the bigger picture. He explained how teams used to build separate cars for each type of track: superspeedways, intermediates, short tracks, and road courses.

Wallace also pointed out that the cost of maintaining up to 20 different cars per driver became unsustainable, and the Gen 7 car was born out of desperation from the sport’s most powerful team owners.

"The NASCAR car owners went to NASCAR and said, 'Save us. We’re going broke building all these cars,'" Kenny Wallace said (07:10).

"The Gen 7 car was created by all the NASCAR car owners. Roger Penske, you know, Jack Roush, Richard Childress. 'Let's build one car to save ourselves. We need one car that we can go from Daytona to Martinsville with,'" he added.

The Gen 7 car was introduced in 2022 and simplified the logistics for teams. However, the Next Gen cars are nearly identical and use the same parts from one supplier, which saves money but it also means limited flexibility in performance tuning.

That first season saw a major boost in competition, tighter racing, and even a rise in fan engagement. That momentum has stalled and several drivers, including 23XI Racing co-owner Denny Hamlin, have complained about the low horsepower of 670.

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"Let's try some more f***ing horsepower" - Kenny Wallace on Gen 7

While Kenny Wallace believes the criticism is missing the bigger picture, he acknowledged the car is not perfect. He pushed back on the narrative that it’s a total failure, especially given the financial relief and competitive balance it brought in its debut season. However, he also suggested adding more horsepower to the Next Gen cars.

"I'm hearing that, you know what, the rally cry right now is if we just give this car a little more horsepower, it will run better at Martinsville. The comp it will be better. Let's try some more f***ing horsepower, okay," Kenny Wallace said (09:20).

Denny Hamlin had called for at least 750 horsepower to help improve racing quality and make overtaking easier. He also recently claimed that NASCAR did not test the Next Gen car enough before using it on all types of tracks. He has also mentioned his advice to improve the car and believes it can be fixed if teams and drivers work together.