NASCAR is making another major shift in its short track racing package, with a new front bumper configuration for select tracks on the remainder of the 2026 Cup Series schedule.
Over the past year, NASCAR has put the wheels in motion for several changes to its short track racing product.
These have included continuous tweaks to tire softness, increased horsepower, and some aerodynamic changes.
Now, NASCAR has confirmed a long-rumored change to the front bumper configuration of NASCAR Cup Series cars for the remainder of the season at a handful of short tracks starting with next month’s race at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
For the upcoming races at North Wilkesboro, Richmond Raceway, Bristol Motor Speedway, and Martinsville Speedway, Cup Series cars will no longer feature front and rear bumper energy-absorbing foam.
Notably, while this change is in place for these tracks, the Chase race at Phoenix Raceway is left off that list, potentially suggesting the cutoff for this change was tracks around a mile in length.
Still, this change, long requested by drivers in the garage, increases the effects of on-track impacts at short tracks.
As former Crew Chiefs and current Analysts Steve Letarte and Todd Gordon explained in a new video, alongside the removal of the two- to three-inch-thick foam, NASCAR also took steps to weaken the area of the front and rear bumpers from a structural standpoint.
The potential for body or internal damage created by the loss of foam and structure reduces what many have called “bumper cars” on short tracks, with drivers bumping into each other with little to no consequence.
It also adds another storyline to what is slated to be an important race weekend for North Wilkesboro Speedway, as the track hosts the next-to-last round of the 2026 NASCAR In-Season Challenge alongside its first points-paying race since 1996.
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