If there’s one thing that can stir up a garage full of NASCAR veterans faster than a late-race caution, it’s the H word: horsepower. And it’s been shifting gears for decades. From the 350–600 HP range during the “Aero Wars” of the 1950s–70s to the peak 850 HP era, NASCAR has long wrestled with the balance between speed and control. But today, it’s not the cars but the drivers sounding the alarm.

Denny Hamlin dubbed the current limits an “illusion,” Joey Logano has dismissed minor tweaks, and Michael McDowell went so far as to call the high horsepower an illusion, or rather go for an “impossible” 200-HP boost. Now the conversation has reached the rulemakers, and for the first time in a while, officials are finally addressing the elephant under the hood.

Yes, NASCAR’s VP of Competition,

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