Story byMatt WeaverMon, February 16, 2026 at 2:35 AM UTC·3 min readOnce again, a general theme of the Daytona 500 and superspeedway racing with the NextGen car in general right now, is the amount of time drivers spend at half-throttle under green flag conditions. The reason they do this is because it is incredibly difficult to pass with the current generation car on these tracks when everyone is racing at full throttle. The cars are too equal and there is so much drag that any attempt to pull out of line is a momentum killer. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementWith that in mind, the best way to get track position is for drivers to burn as little fuel as possible in relation to the competition, because that means spending less time on pit road. If drivers can’t pass on the track, the goal is to make as many passes on pit road. This has been the case since the advent of this car on superspeedways and the frustrations are reaching a fever pitch.