THE NEXT GEN IS HERE

BY JARED TURNER

Cup Series car, that is.

When the green flag waves on the 2022 Cup Series season, the cars on the race track will look and drive differently than the ones fans are accustomed to seeing. And that’s not a bad thing.

For years, followers of the sport have clamored to see race cars that more closely resemble the ones they might buy at a dealership or find sitting in traffic. Numerous drivers have meanwhile expressed a desire to exert greater influence over how their car handles, with aerodynamics becoming less of a factor.

The Next Generation car – otherwise known as the Next Gen – checks both of these boxes and a whole lot more.

“It looks like you can drive it down the road,” 2018 Cup Series champ Joey Logano said. “The cops might pull you over, but the car has the same look.”

Along with a Ford looking more like a showroom Ford, and a Toyota looking more like a showroom Toyota, etc., the Next Gen car is significantly harder to drive than its predecessor. That’s because the body is fully symmetrical, which reduces aerodynamic forces and puts a premium on car setup and driver control.

Odd as it might sound, most competitors want to drive a car that slips and slides a bit through the turns, because it gives them a better opportunity to showcase their skills.

“It’s definitely fun for the drivers,” Hendrick Motorsports wheelman William Byron said after turning laps in the Next Gen car during a December test at Charlotte Motor Speedway. “There’s a lot more going on, you’re sweating a little bit more, or at least I was working harder. You’ve got more brake usage, more throttle usage, more of a difference I feel like I’m making.”

Originally set to debut in 2021, the Next Generation car had its release date pushed back a year because of scheduling challenges related to COVID-19. By the time the 2022 season starts, drivers will have tested the car at more than a half dozen tracks – including Daytona International Speedway, where the Next Gen will turn it first official laps during Speedweeks.

But even with all the testing and positive feedback about the new model, it’s hard to predict how things will play out when 40 cars are on the track at the same time. Test sessions with the Next Gen car have featured minimal pack racing, with drivers running mostly single file.

“Yeah, I mean, who knows?” Joe Gibbs Racing driver and 23XI Racing co-owner Denny Hamlin said. “I do not know exactly what to expect until I get out on a race track and feel this car out. I love change. Throw something different. Cocky drivers believe we’re better than everyone else, and we’re going to adapt quicker than everyone else, and that’s what I believe.”

side. Just ask Tyler Reddick, one of multiple drivers who had an incident during testing. “The cars are on edge, which is a good thing,” Reddick said. “There’s more mechanical grip in the car, less aerodynamic grip, so you gotta keep it straight, and you gotta keep the tires happy. You can’t get completely sideways or as sideways as we used to in years past with the other cars.”

NASCAR President Steve Phelps said. “If you think about this car and its styling, it is a souped-up Camaro, it’s a souped-up Mustang, and it’s a souped-up Camry. That’s what they are. It looks like you’ve gone to some type of outfit that’s taken a regular car and just made it look incredibly sporty.”

transmission and rear gears into one package, with an eye on the future – the ability to incorporate electrification. “The shifting is different,” said Denny Hamlin, comparing the Next Gen car to its Gen-6 predecessor that drivers have raced the last nine years. “I’m going to need to adapt on road courses to that side of things.”

Because each track has different characteristics, the car could be a home run at some tracks but more difficult to manage at others – at least at first.

“I think you’re going to see just kind of this back and forth where there might be a team that hits on a setup that might work at mile-and-a-half tracks, then another team finds it on short tracks,” Logano said. “It’s just going to keep changing.”

Even with the inevitable uncertainties that come with a new car, there’s reason for optimism that drivers, fans, sponsors and NASCAR’s various other key stakeholders will come to love the on-track product made possible by the Next Gen car.

“It’s going to take time to learn about it,” said Eric Warren, the director of NASCAR programs for General Motors. “The first time we run together, there’s going to be a steep learning curve for everybody. The first couple years are going to be exciting to see who rises to the top. Ultimately, the good teams and drivers will always come out on top.”

–STEWART-HAAS RACING DRIVER COLE CUSTER ON NASCAR’S NEXT GEN CAR

and wider Goodyear tires better replicate what is found on passenger cars and will allow for softer tire compounds. Gone are the traditional five lug nuts, replaced by one lug nut in the center of the wheel. “The choreography of the pit stop is going to look exactly the same,” Phelps said. “Pulling the one lug until it’s tight and locks is going to be the only difference.”

front and rear bumpers for increased safety. Both the front and rear clips bolt onto the center section for easier serviceability and damage repair. This was evident during a December test at Charlotte when Austin Dillon crashed hard but his team managed to repair the car and get it back on track after replacing badly damaged parts.

an underwing and rear diffuser designed to help the Next Gen model handle better in traffic than the Gen-6 and reduce “dirty air,” which often made the Gen-6 want to turn right rather than left when running closely behind another car. As a result, passing often proved difficult with the old car – particularly on the intermediate tracks.