NASCAR Cup Series boosting horsepower to 750 at select events in 2026, including Food City 500 and Bass Pro Shops Night Race

NASCAR is bringing more horsepower to Bristol Motor Speedway’s all-concrete high-banks in its marquee Cup Series in 2026, the stock car sanctioning body announced Wednesday, Oct. 8.

NASCAR President Steve O’Donnell broke the news on the popular Dale Jr Download on Dirty Mo Media that the horsepower level for NASCAR Cup Series cars at ovals and short tracks that are less than 1.5-miles and road courses will increase to 750 hp starting in the 2026 season.

Including Bristol, the rule change will affect 17 of the current Cup Series tracks. Speedway Motorsports sister tracks Circuit of the Americas, Dover Motor Speedway, Nashville Superspeedway, Sonoma Raceway, North Wilkesboro Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway and the ROVAL at Charlotte Motor Speedway also will see the power boost.

The NASCAR Cup Series competes at Bristol Motor Speedway two times in 2026, the first on April 12 with the Food City 500 and then again in the NASCAR Round of 16 Playoffs with the Bass Pro Shops Night Race on Sept. 19.

There had been a growing sentiment from drivers, crew chiefs and others in the industry for an increase under the hood to be given to the Next Gen car, which has operated on a baseline of 670 horsepower since its inception at the majority of tracks. An increase in horsepower is expected to create more on-track action, passing opportunities and require teams to utilize tire-management strategies.

John Probst, NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing development officer, said feedback came from across a wide landscape of the sport, and that 750 hp was generally agreed upon by NASCAR officials, engine builders and Cup team members.

“I would say, like any other change that we are considering to the cars, we listen to the fans a lot,” Probst said. “We listen to the drivers. We have stakeholders in the broadcast, OEM (manufacturers) and team competition and team business folks, so there’s always no shortage of feedback that we get. Our fans are very passionate, they provide very candid feedback, so that all is very important to us.”

To purchase tickets for Bristol Motor Speedway’s NASCAR Cup Series races in 2026, please visit www.bristolmotorspeedway.com or call (866) 415-4158.