NASCAR Faces Growing Backlash Over Elton Sawyer’s Controversial Next-Gen Remark NASCAR fans push back on Elton Sawyer’s claim as Next Gen cars face criticism after Shane van Gisbergen’s Watkins Glen w

The arrival of the NASCAR Next-Gen car was meant to level the playing field, but on road courses, it has done the opposite. Shane van Gisbergen has emerged as the clearest example, turning the parity machine into his personal weapon. At Watkins Glen, he didn’t just win; he made the car dance in ways few others could, underlining both his skill and the widening gap in the Next Gen era that has been created between specialists and the rest of the field. And NASCAR’s senior vice president, Elton Sawyer, is brimming with joy and pride.

However, for fans, it is a double-edged spectacle. On tracks where the Next Gen struggles to generate consistent passing, watching one driver extract every ounce of performance can be as frustrating as it is impressive, a paradox that is quickly becoming the de