Next Gen car arrives
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — NASCAR’s next generation race car is finally here after two years of hype and hope that it will revolutionize the stock car series.
How can a spec car radically change a sport?
Competition. Cost containment. Manufacturer relevance.
The Next Gen car, first proposed in 2018 and originally set to debut this season until the pandemic delayed it until 2022, is a first-of-its-kind collaboration between NASCAR and its partners. All parties had to work toward creating a car that served the entire industry.
“We really wanted to get back to a promise that we had made to the fans, which is to put the ‘stock’ back in stock car,” said NASCAR President Steve Phelps. “It looks like you’ve gone to some type of outfit that’s taken a regular car and just made it look incredibly sporty. There’s a relevance to this race car that we haven’t seen, frankly, in 40, 50 years.”
The long overdue unveiling Wednesday was much like a pre-pandemic NASCAR affair. Hall of Famers Richard Petty, Rick Hendrick and Joe Gibbs were part of a masked audience when reigning Cup Series champion Chase Elliott, Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin drove their respective Chevrolet Camaro, Ford Mustang and Toyota Camry into a darkened Charlotte auditorium.
It was the first public look at the most significant change to the Cup cars since the present “Car of Tomorrow” model was introduced in 2007.
For the first time in NASCAR’s 73-year history, single-source manufacturers will build the chassis, provide parts and supply
the carbon composite body. But each individual manufacturer has the flexibility to design the shell to at last resemble the Camaros, Mustangs and Camrys anybody can drive off the car lot.
“Chevrolet wants to have a competitive car on track. But equally as much, we want to have a car that aligns itself with something somebody can go buy on a showroom floor,” Elliott said. “I think they did a really good job of marrying those two things together.”
The Next Gen also led NASCAR to modern upgrades found on today’s street cars — rack-and-pinion steering, independent rear suspension, bigger wheels and upgraded connectivity to allow for an in-car camera in every vehicle. There is also the ability to adapt as technology changes.
NASCAR has had only three manufacturers since Dodge left the sport after the 2012 season, and Phelps has said new carmakers would not be interested in joining until a new look was introduced.
The Next Gen should make NASCAR appealing to other manufacturers particularly as hybrid technology is explored. The new car, for now, will continue to use internal combustion, pushrod V8 engines produced by each of the three manufacturers.
“We are future-proofing the car to enable hybrid,” said Mark Rushbrook, global director at Ford Performance Motorsports. “We think that is important as our road car cycles changes to be able to race hybrid in this car as well.”
The Next Gen has sparked interest in ownership, and three new teams entered the top Cup Series this year. Michael Jordan is now an owner alongside three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin, Pitbull joined entered in partnership with former driver Justin Marks, and former driver Matt Tifft has a team with current driver B.J. McLeod.