"We were just kicking everybody's teeth" - Kevin Harvick attributes NASCAR's HP reduction to supremacy of himself, Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr.

Former NASCAR driver Kevin Harvick has weighed in on the relentless dominance of himself, Kyle Busch and Martin Triex Jr. in the pre-NextGen era. He also called it the reason behind horsepower reduction in the current high-octane cars.

Before the advent of the NextGen ride, the Cup Series cars were powered by a 750 horsepower engine, which created huge challenges on the short tracks and road courses, courtesy of very high speeds in tight spaces.

However, the package failed to deliver the same battle on mile-and-a-half tracks, as proficient drivers like Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch, and Kevin Harvick became the infamous trio that stole the show on the weekends.

The testing for the NextGen cars began in 2021 and from the next season, the 550-670 horsepower package was replaced by the old one. Kevin Harvick highlighted why NASCAR switched from 750 HP to 550 HP packages, citing his unstoppable domination as one of the reasons.

He said (via Harvick Happy Hour on X):

"Myself, Kyle Busch, and Martin Truex Jr. were winning all the races, that's why they changed the rules. One of the biggest reasons they changed the rules is because we won too many races. They'll flat out tell you, 'That's why we went to the 550 package to try to make mile and a halves better.'" (0.14)

"I think so 2018, 2019, 2017, 2016, those years on the mile and a halves, I mean we were just kicking everybody's teeth in between the three of us. So I think people got tired of seeing same people win the races and kudos to them for changing the rules," Harvick added.

Kevin Harvick slams NASCARs reluctance to increase horsepower

After the fourth Cup Series race on the 2024 calendar got done and dusted, Kevin Harvick took a jibe at NASCAR for spending millions of dollars on everything except increasing the much-needed horsepower.

The Shriners Children's 500 marked the fourth race this season and was hosted by Phoenix Raceway. After an action-packed thriller on the 1-mile oval, Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell sealed his maiden win in 2024. Harvick appreciated the 312 laps of action, admitting that the Next Gen cars' short track package had "positive" aspects.

However, witnessing NASCARs reluctance to make an effort toward utilizing the horsepower output of the high-octane engines, the 2014 Cup Series champion lashed out at NASCAR, saying (via Harvick Happy Hour on X):

"I cannot understand why we wanna keep spending millions and millions of dollars on CFD and wind tunnels and changing parts and changing pieces. The engine cost hasn't changed since we changed the engine rules. I don't understand why we just don't want them to blow the back tires off the car, it doesn't make any sense to me." (0.10)

Harvick had an impressive career during which, he won the 2014 NASCAR Cup Series. He retired in 2023.