New NASCAR racers revealed
NASCAR’S three manufacturers – Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota – have unveiled their new body shapes for the Next Gen car that will be used in the 2022 Cup Series, as full details emerged about the Dallara-designed stock car chassis.
Manufacturers have been allowed extra flexibility in body shapes to reflect their road cars: Chevy and Ford with their Camaro ZL1 and Mustang respectively, and Toyota its TRD Camry sedan.
“The greenhouse is now two inches lower and four inches narrower than the current car,” explained NASCAR managing director of vehicle systems Brandon Thomas. “The deck lids are also much shorter, per OEM design trends, so the car now looks like a more-aggressive street car.”
The bodies, which are now symmetrical, bucking a decades-long design trend, will be mounted upon a standardised chassis. Teams will no longer fabricate their own tube-frame cars from scratch but buy them from NASCAR’S appointed builder Technique Chassis. It is assembled in three parts, with bolt-on front and rear clips mounted to the central section, but does not feature any carbonfibre structural elements, as NASCAR ruled that out.
“We’ve had some of the best engineering racing minds working on this car from NASCAR, Goodyear, the teams, Dallara and the OEMS,” said NASCAR senior vicepresident of racing innovation John Probst. “I think people are going to be very happy with what they see on track next February.”
NASCAR revealed 26 common component suppliers, with independent suspension and rack-and-pinion steering incorporated for the first time. A flat floor and diffuser are also used, as NASCAR seeks to level the aerodynamic playing field via underfloor downforce levels, while delivering cleaner air to following cars.
Toyota Racing chief David Wilson told Autosport: “This new chassis is a revolutionary change. It’s somewhat akin to what Indycar is, to use a motorsportrelated analogy. It’s a game-changer, no question about that.”
To save costs, NASCAR will cap teams at seven cars per driver per season, almost half the current number. New 18-inch BBS aluminium wheels will allow Goodyear to run softer-compound, lower-profile tyres.