Why less power is actually better for NASCAR at superspeedways

NASCAR announced a new rules package for the summer Daytona race that's aimed at improving passing and making cars less reliant on fuel saving as a strategy, but many fans are up in arms that it comes with a horsepower reduction. Current superspeedway spec engines produce 510 horsepower through a 0.89 inch tapered and that will now be reduced to 465 horsepower with the use of 0.84 inch tapered spacer.

It may seem counterintuitive at first glance to reduce power if you're trying to help passing, but superspeedway racing has a unique set of components which are heavily reliant on each other. The reason why these cars currently have so much drag and downforce is because of the engine package choice. In previous generations of the NASCAR Cup car, there were engines with less horsepower that were designed specifically for superspeedway racing which allowed NASCAR to create aero packages with less downforce and drag. The advent of spec racing with the Next Gen car meant that there were less choices for engines and a lower power engine option was no longer available, so the only thing NASCAR could do to slow cars down enough in order to reduce the chance of flips was to add more downforce and drag in the form of a large spoiler and underbody aero.