Ford, Chevrolet Find NASCAR's New Short-Track Package a Disaster

• NASCAR’s new short-track and road course package made its debut Sunday at Phoenix Raceway.

• Only one Ford driver—Todd Gilliland—kept the race from being a Toyota rout.

• Chevrolet, which had won the season’s first three races, was virtually non-existent.

Toyota teams will no doubt like NASCAR’s new short-track package, while Ford and Chevrolet would probably like to scrap it and start over.

NASCAR’s new short-track and road course package made its debut Sunday at Phoenix Raceway, and it was a disaster for Ford and Chevrolet. In the Shriners Children’s 500, Toyota drivers led all but 14 laps in the 312-lap race.

Only one Ford driver—Todd Gilliland—kept the race from being a Toyota rout. Chevrolet, which had won the season’s first three races, was virtually non-existent. Only one Chevrolet driver—Ross Chastain—finished in the top 10. Ironically, half of the six drivers who tested the package in December 2023 at Phoenix placed in the top five.

Toyota’s Christopher Bell won the race, while Ford’s Chris Buescher placed second and Ryan Blaney took fifth.

The package introduced at Phoenix reduced downforce on the front of the car. To compensate for the reduced downforce on the front, the rear spoiler was increased from two to three inches in height while the same length across the rear deck was kept. Goodyear developed a new tire to go with the package.

Ford’s Chase Briscoe thought the package was better, but the tires were an issue.

“I think if you put this package on the right tire, it would be better,” Briscoe said.

Other drivers didn’t complain about the tire, but rather their car’s balance. However, one thing they all agreed on—it was difficult to pass. Bell was one of the few who didn’t fit in that category as he gained 17 positions in 34 laps in the race’s closing stage.

Crew chief Adam Stevens attributed the maneuverability of Bell’s Toyota to his driver telling his team how he wanted to run his race and the line he wanted to use.

It also appeared during the event that drivers who knew how to constantly seek a better line during a race fared better with the new package.

“The tire and the track conditions and the reduced downforce overall kind of widened the race track out a little bit,” Stevens says. “You could run two wide on both ends of the race track. You could pass high if you had to, pass low if you needed to. It was just overall racier.”

Bell said the car drove different, but it wasn’t any better in traffic.

“The racing probably, in my eyes, wasn’t much different than what we’ve had in the past,” Bell says.

Denny Hamlin believes the solution to the issues created by the current car is simple—increase the car’s horsepower to 750.

“I think any horsepower you can add will make the racing better,” Hamlin says. “It is hard to pass because we are all in the gas so much. You have to get us out of the gas whether through the tire or the horsepower. Fifty horsepower, while it may not be a game changer, any horsepower gain will be an advantage for passing.”

NASCAR now has a road course and three short-track races on its schedule, and if this package is kept and it provides the same type of race as Phoenix, the momentum the sport gained with the Atlanta finish will be lost.