{"id":27308,"date":"2021-05-06T16:15:02","date_gmt":"2021-05-06T20:15:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=27308"},"modified":"2021-05-06T16:15:02","modified_gmt":"2021-05-06T20:15:02","slug":"revealed-nascar-next-gen-racer-accelerates-into-new-era","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2021\/05\/revealed-nascar-next-gen-racer-accelerates-into-new-era","title":{"rendered":"Revealed: NASCAR Next Gen racer accelerates into new era"},"content":{"rendered":"

America\u2019s most popular form of motorsport, the NASCAR Cup Series, introduced its Next Gen race car Wednesday. The seventh-generation racer is a\u00a0major evolution that embraces 21st-century technologies to improve handling, reduce costs, increase\u00a0safety, and eventually transition the series to hybrid power.<\/p>\n

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While NASCAR\u2019s roots lie\u00a0in Detroit Three stock car battles, \u201cstock\u201d production chassis were replaced in the early 1990s by a bespoke racing architecture. Today, all three official NASCAR partners \u2014\u00a0Chevrolet, Ford, and Toyota \u2014 marry a common, tube-frame platform to a body design intended to reflect\u00a0their current Camaro, Mustang, and Camry showroom offerings.<\/p>\n

Each manufacturer \u2014 represented by NASCAR drivers and performance chiefs \u2014 showed off their new Next Gen designs at a joint press conference Thursday in North Carolina where most teams are based.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re very excited about the Next Gen car. It\u2019s really a big step forward for the sport …\u00a0 and to be more relevant underneath with the chassis, steering, and engine\u00a0systems,\u201d Mark Rushbrook, Ford Performance global director, said\u00a0in an interview. The exterior \u201cproportions (are) much closer to what we have in today\u2019s street Mustang.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chevrolet touted the improved, more athletic appearance of the race cars to better reflect their siblings on the showroom floor.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe Next Gen Camaro has a much stronger link to the production Camaro ZL1 in terms of styling integration, improved proportions and relevant technologies,\u201d said Chevy NASCAR director Eric Warren. \u201cFrom an engineering standpoint, this is a seismic shift.”<\/p>\n

Desperate to continue growing the sport into the 21st century and expand its partners beyond the Chevy-Ford-Toyota trio, NASCAR hopes the Next Gen car will generate more affordable\u00a0\u2014\u00a0and more competitive \u2014\u00a0racing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe economic model for the sport is not sustainable,\u201d said David Wilson, Toyota Racing Development president. \u201cThe Next Gen model represents revolutionary change akin to what IndyCar is doing today. It\u2019s a game-changer.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Central to that revolution is sourcing the Generation 7, tube-frame NASCAR chassis from a single supplier: Jackson-based Technique. A model for cost control, the open-wheel IndyCar series also has moved in recent years to a single-source chassis supplier (Italy\u2019s Dallara). Currently, NASCAR\u2019s Gen 6 car is built from the ground up by race teams, requiring big investments in fabrication technologies and Computerized Numerically Controlled (CNC) machines.<\/p>\n

Delayed a year by the coronavirus pandemic, the Next Gen racer will make its track debut at next February’s Daytona 500. Its more efficient production already has attracted new teams to the Cup Series, including Trackhouse Racing, Live Fast Motorsports, and 23XI Racing \u2014 the latter co-owned by NASCAR racer Denny Hamlin and ex-NBA superstar Michael Jordan.<\/p>\n

The Next Gen NASCAR also promises future\u00a0powertrain changes that could attract more automakers.<\/p>\n

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While the 2022 car will continue\u00a0to use NASCAR\u2019s ol’ reliable, pushrod V-8 engine, the new chassis has been designed to accommodate electrification updates for a hybrid powertrain \u2014\u00a0or even all-electric. Ford\u2019s Rushbrook \u2014 echoing Ford\u2019s corporate\u00a0ambitions \u2014 is bullish on\u00a0electrification in racing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted to have the new car with carry-over engines. But then flexibility in the future\u00a0to go to hybrid\u00a0\u2014 and potentially\u00a0full electric,\u201d said Rushbrook, who has unveiled prototype electric Mustang Mach E and dragster racers in the last year. \u201cAs\u00a0we go hybrid and electric that will be an opportunity for manufacturers to get in because they will start from Ground Zero.\u201d<\/p>\n

TRD\u2019s Wilson agreed, and said\u00a0the new engine\/chassis package could open up NASCAR to six or seven manufacturers \u2014\u00a0similar to the IMSA\u00a0GTD field where Toyota\u2019s luxury Lexus sports car competes against\u00a0Porsche, Acura, Aston Martin, Audi, Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren, and Mercedes.<\/p>\n

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For now, however, 550-670 horsepower V-8s (depending on the track) will power the Next Gen NASCAR. Wilson said he doesn\u2019t expect a transition\u00a0to hybrid until at least 2023.<\/p>\n

For all the talk of electrified race cars that dovetail with government trends, Wilson acknowledges\u00a0fans still like their engines loud and fast.<\/p>\n

“The Next Gen hybrid engine is inevitable, but the hard thing is holding hands and jumping off the cliff at the same time,” he laughed. “Our fans want a big, powerful engine.”<\/p>\n

Next Gen still boasts plenty of technological leaps coveted by drivers and teams.<\/p>\n

The NASCAR model gains an independent rear suspension \u2014\u00a0common on\u00a0production cars\u00a0like Mustang, Camaro, and Camry \u2014 instead of a solid rear axle. The change will make cars more nimble \u2014 as will better downforce created by a flat underbody\u00a0and rear diffuser.<\/p>\n

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Drivers also gain a five-speed sequential transmission which will enable more gear changes. A new rear transaxle design moves the transmission rearward, which\u00a0\u2014\u00a0coupled with new side-pipe\u00a0exhaust design \u2014\u00a0will better position the driver toward the center of the car, adding\u00a0safety in the inevitable, high-speed wrecks where a car\u2019s flanks are compromised.<\/p>\n

Pit stops should look a lot different with the Next Gen NASCAR.<\/p>\n

Wheels will be fastened with a single, center lug nut rather than five nuts. Fuel will delivered by a clamp-on hose familiar to IndyCar racers, rather than a more unwieldy gas cylinder. The changes will reduce crew sizes and speed up pit stops.<\/p>\n

Wheels also will grow from 15 inches to 18\u00a0\u2014\u00a0mirroring the production world\u00a0where low-profile tires proliferate and housing bigger brakes.<\/p>\n

“The bigger wheels are more representative of what we sell,” Toyota lead engineer Todd Holbert said.<\/p>\n

Damaged bodywork should be easier to repair thanks to\u00a0carbon composite tech that replaces the current\u00a0steel panels. NASCAR\u2019s junior Xfinity series already has been using composite bodies to good effect.<\/p>\n

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Don\u2019t expect real headlights or taillights, though. The new cars will continue\u00a0to slap on sticker graphics\u00a0to represent\u00a0details like lights, logos \u2014\u00a0even upper grilles.<\/p>\n

Manufacturers are thrilled with the new, more sculpted exteriors\u00a0that better mimic their street cars. Wheelbase remains the same at 110 inches, but gone are\u00a0ungainly tails and big greenhouses that robbed aesthetic beauty.<\/p>\n

“It’s hard to understate the significance of this Next Gen. There is more change in this car than in the last 50 years,” Wilson said. “This is the best-looking Toyota we have ever raced.”<\/p>\n

NASCAR is in the entertainment\u00a0industry, after all, and fans want to see athletic bodies\u00a0in close competition. Rushbrook said the Next Gen NASCAR should deliver, as all teams start from a clean sheet. This will put new teams like Live Fast and 23XI on more equal footing with legacy champs like Gibbs, Hendrick, and Penske.<\/p>\n

\u201cSettings from the\u00a0Gen 6 car aren’t going to apply,\u201d Rushbrook said. \u201cEverybody starts from ground zero.”<\/p>\n

Teams will begin getting new cars in July, with heavy testing expected this fall leading into the 2022 Daytona 500.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

America\u2019s most popular form of motorsport, the NASCAR Cup Series, introduced its Next Gen race car Wednesday. The seventh-generation racer is a\u00a0major evolution that embraces 21st-century technologies to improve handling, reduce costs, increase\u00a0safety, and eventually transition the series to hybrid power. While NASCAR\u2019s roots lie\u00a0in Detroit Three stock car battles, \u201cstock\u201d production chassis were replaced […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27308"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27308"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27308\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27309,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27308\/revisions\/27309"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27308"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27308"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27308"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}