Sunday’s Goodyear 400 has given fans a lot to talk about, even after the race weekend, but this time, it seems like most emotions felt are tending to the negative specter. From William Byron dominating the race nearly from start to finish, to a car running 160 laps down ultimately changing the outcome of the race, and a not-so-popular winner stealing it at the end, it raised questions: Are we entering dark times with this Next Gen car? (Or have the problems always been there, and the fans are just selective about when to see them?)
Well, the question is certainly in the air and could go either way, but for most fans, the racing product at Darlington is not what they want to see, and you can check out yourself on this poll run by Jeff Gluck on X
Was Darlington a good race?
— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) April 7, 2025
54.1% of the over 26 thousand voters said the race was bad. As a matter of fact, this ranks 14th worst in the Next Gen era, 102nd out of 116 races polled. Last out of 16 Darlington races by a longshot (25.7%, to be precise.) Lowest of all races in 2025… we could go on, but the question still stands: WHY so much backlash on one of the most beloved tracks?
This Gen 7 car has never had good popularity in short-track races, but it seems like said popularity has been growing following recent pushes by NASCAR and Goodyear to soften the tires. The same, however, cannot be said about intermediates, beloved from day one, mostly because finally NASCAR had gotten rid of the despised 550HP package run from 2019 to 2021, but it seemed like the problems at intermediates had been fixed at last. It seems like that was an illusion, as in 2025, fans have been going at it at NASCAR because track position is too important. Races like Las Vegas, in which tire wear is not the main factor, have been severely impacted by the lack of passing for the lead, and the problem seems to be getting worse.. but wait, Darlington is known for being one of the hardest tracks on the tires, so, what happened?
William Byron was, at least before the ending, the biggest storyline of the race; driving the infamous Gordon final ride scheme, winning the pole, both stages, and leading the first 243 (of 293) laps of the race, it was clear that he had the fastest car on the race, or was it? Byron led all those laps, but one event was evident: his lead would shrink as soon as he caught lap traffic. At one point during stage two, Byron had a near-4 second lead over Joey Logano, but in the end, Byron won the stage by just under a second. Why? Because he caught lap traffic and could not get by them.
So what is the problem with that? Well, Darlington is well-known for being one of the hardest tracks to pass, but it still always seems to be at the top when it comes to fan ratings, but not this time. The events during the race left the door wide open for fans to see the major flaws of this generation of cars. The problem was so evident that it got most believing that “the only thing that matters nowadays is track position. Put a car up front, and they’ll run there.” Is there any truth to that statement? Well, it’s hard to say it is a lie; here’s why:
Joe Gibbs Racing drivers suffered early in the race with their handling on worn tires, dropping all the way outside the top 20 and well out of contention. They stayed there and seemingly were struggling until they decided to go for a different strategy and eventually caught a caution that put both Hamlin and Bell inside the top 5 and Ty Gibbs inside the top 10. Briscoe was the only Gibbs driver not to have that lucky break on the timing of the caution.
Fast-forward to the end of the race, and Joe Gibbs has finished 1st, 3rd, 9th… and 28th. Thanks to a timely caution, the cars that seemingly were struggling were put out in front and never left. Byron, on the other hand, who clearly had the fastest car with clean air, got stuck behind other cars as soon as he got there, unable to pass.
So surely that “car exposure” is why fans are so mad, right? Well, it is arguable, but we still have to go through something that is often overlooked.
You may have noticed that I mentioned Las Vegas as a race affected by the lack of passing with the Next-Gen car, yet, it ranks 1st in all of the races polled in 2025, so am I wrong? Well, I could be, but I have a point that might show you why the numbers do, sometimes, lie.
You are looking at every race polled by Jeff Gluck for the 2025 season, and as you can see, Vegas was the best-rated race of the 2025 season. Why did I mention it as a race that exposed some of the car’s flaws, then? Even though most do, you cannot believe firmly that fans, at least not all of them, will vote solely based on the racing product. I am not saying that 87% of the voters are wrong and that the Las Vegas race was terrible by any means, but you’ve got to look at the broader picture.
Throughout the entire event, in Las Vegas, it was discussed how difficult it was to pass and how aero blocking and aero pushing were negatively affecting the race, but in the end, it got an 87% “Yes” from voters. Why? Controversy was non-existent, the winner was a fan favorite, and there was uncertainty as fuel strategy came into play on the second-to-last run. Meanwhile, at Darlington, we witnessed a fan favorite get his win scrapped out of existence due to two lapped cars running into each other, “handing” the win to, arguably, the most hated driver on this sport; it’s obvious there’s going to be some kind of reaction.
It’s not a NASCAR-Fan problem; it’s humanity. Humans are reactive. Good emotions show, and bad emotions show even more. If you get mad at the finish, you’ll probably dislike the entire race. If you love the winner and the finish, you’re probably swayed into loving the race as well. Don’t believe me? Look at the results of Daytona and Atlanta. Why are these races not ranked higher, if not for the controversy? Exclude the finish; can you find a 20% margin of improvement on that Atlanta race?
It is not a crime to dislike a race, but it is good to see where your argument is coming from. Did you not like the race, or was there something to it that pulled your emotions down? Hardly, Darlington became one of the worst tracks in NASCAR overnight. Both races last year got over 90% on the poll, and you could argue they were not very different from last weekend’s race, but what do both from last year have in common that this year’s do not? A complacent winner. Darlington has a recent history of having drivers completely dominate the race just to fail at winning: Kyle Larson led 263 laps last fall, but that doesn’t seem to have affected the polling at all. Tyler Reddick led 174 laps before wrecking Buescher and himself in the closing laps, but despite his domination, fans loved that race… or did they love the finish and its beneficiary?
What do you think, race fan? Was the race really as bad as social media says, or are people overreacting? What side do you pick on that story? Let us know by joining our Discord or X, and remember to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube for more updates.
