NASCAR officials to boost Cup Series horsepower on select tracks in 2026

NASCAR competition officials announced Wednesday that the target horsepower for Cup Series events at road courses and oval tracks less than 1.5 miles in length will increase to 750 in the 2026 season. NASCAR president Steve O'Donnell revealed the news on this week's edition of the Dale Jr. Download podcast. The horsepower figure will be an increase from the baseline 670 in the current rules configuration for NASCAR's top division. The move comes amid growing demand from drivers, the industry and fans for a power boost to the Next Gen race car platform, which debuted in the Cup Series in 2022. The increase is expected to place a greater premium on drivers' throttle control, while also incentivizing tire management and creating more passing opportunities with varying on- and off-throttle times. "I would say, like any other change that we are considering to the cars, we listen to the fans a lot," said John Probst, NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing development officer. "We listen to the drivers. We have stakeholders in the broadcast, OEM (manufacturers) and team competition and team business folks, so there's always no shortage of feedback that we get. Our fans are very passionate, they provide very candid feedback, so that all is very important to us." [table id=570 /] Officials indicated that a complete rules configuration and competition update briefing for 2026 would come in the offseason. In the last two seasons, NASCAR officials have worked with Goodyear officials to improve the racing, producing softer tires that promote wear and creating more chances for pit-strategy options, tire management and passing opportunities to come into play. Wednesday's announcement promises to add a new wrinkle to that trend, with more power also contributing to advanced tire falloff. "I am definitely Team Horsepower," said RFK Racing driver/co-owner Brad Keselowski, hinting two weeks ago about the increase in an appearance on the Stacking Pennies podcast. Introducing that higher horsepower number has prompted close communication among NASCAR officials, engine builders and manufacturers in a series of weekly meetings this year. Five of the first eight races on the 2026 Cup Series schedule will use the new 750-horsepower package, providing an early test for its performance and perhaps a glimpse at expanding to larger ovals -- superspeedway-style tracks excluded. "That gives us an opportunity to sample some of the short tracks, road courses early in the season, get a look at the engines after we've raced them at the new power level," Probst said. "If that all looks good, I would not rule out looking at increasing that horsepower at the mile and a halfs and above. It's just something that we kind of want to crawl, walk, run with this, and so this is the start, looking at the increased power at the short tracks. If that looks well, and I'm not committing to this today, but we will consider expanding the use of that as we go forward. "Now, some of the best racing we have right now is at our intermediate tracks, so it's a scenario we'll tread very lightly to make sure that we don't upset something. It is a package. It's the downforce, it's the drag, it's the power, it's the tire wear, all together that's creating those good shows. So don't want to just change one for the sake of changing it and then find out later that we did something bad there and hurt the on-track product. So we'll proceed with caution." RELATED: 2026 Cup Series schedule Probst said NASCAR officials, engine builders and teams arrived at the 750-horsepower figure as a happy medium. Implementation will take place by using a larger tapered spacer on top of the engine's intake manifold, improving engine airflow and power. Achieving an even higher horsepower number would potentially compromise reliability and would require more development and cost. "If we were to increase the power from 670 horsepower to about 750 horsepower, that probably wouldn't be much of a change for us today," said Roush Yates Engines CEO Doug Yates, in an appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio in April. "But to go back to those 900-horsepower engines, that would be quite the project and would definitely decrease the life of the engine." Probst said higher figures were considered, but 750 "was a number that everyone felt comfortable that they could get to without having to go and redesign any of the internal parts of the engine. Once you go above that, you start crossing into very short-mileage engines, because you're actually pushing them harder and harder. A lot of inefficiencies come in real quick." Also under consideration, Probst said, was implementing the horsepower increase sooner. "We had a lot of conversations around that," he said, acknowledging that competition officials wanted more time to test the package's durability with load testing on engine dynamometers. Probst also said his department didn't want to introduce that component just before the 10-race Cup Series Playoffs. A common theme to the horsepower equation has been investment by manufacturers -- both the existing ones in Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota, plus prospective automakers looking to enter the sport. "It's not as simple as just upping the horsepower," said O'Donnell, then the chief operating officer in the 2023 'State of the Sport' address. "You better be ready for all your OEs to be on board. It better make sense for any potential new OEM and technology. It's not just a short-term answer." Probst said this week that those conversations are still part of the process. "I think that the interest from the OEMs in NASCAR right now continues to be very high," Probst said. "We have ongoing discussions with multiple OEMs right now. I don't want to get into specifics of where particular OEMs would be with respect to horsepower, but we regularly talk with our existing OEMs, listen to potential new OEMs, and are always trying to thread the needle of broadening our OEM base and maintaining the ones we've got. So it's not trivial, but it is one that's ongoing." MORE: Hauler Talk podcast recaps Charlotte Roval