Check out NASCAR’s all-new Next Gen racers

For our non-American readers, NASCAR currently has three manufacturers in the sport; Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota. Attracting more manufacturers to join is a simple way of improving the spectacle, but that’s easier said than done…

So, for the last couple of years, NASCAR has been developing a whole new car that will reduce costs for teams, bring the racing closer than ever and allow the manufacturers to make the cars look more like their road-going equivalents. Originally codenamed Gen-7, the resulting cars are now known as Next Gen. 

The maybe-a-Mustang, not-quite-a-Camaro and kinda-a-Camry you see above will all begin racing in the 2022 Cup Series – a year later than planned thanks to you-know-what. The big change is that loads more parts are now built by a single supplier and are shared across the teams, so teams will no longer build their own tubular chassis, for example.

NASCAR’s old 5.8-litre V8 engine will remain at the heart of the Next Gen cars (because ‘Murica), although there’s talk of a hybrid system in the near future which these cars could package. Power will be limited to either 670bhp or 550bhp depending on the circuit. 

The aim has been to make the Next Gen coupes less reliant on aerodynamics and more on mechanical grip and setup. As a result, the cars will be symmetrical (not skewed on their chassis like Gen-6 cars were). There’ll also be a rear diffuser for the first time that cleans up the dirty air behind a car, as well as a flat floor, a shorter rear deck and a lower roof. The standard ride height will also be two inches higher than before. 

Body panels will now be made from composite materials as opposed to the sheet metal of old, with new energy-absorbing foam bumpers at the front and rear. 

“This new car’s going to allow them to get into the wall a little bit, get into each other a little bit, without really any worse for the wear as far as the performance of the vehicle,” said John Probst, NASCAR’s senior vice president of racing innovation. “We’re really hoping that this encourages them to get even more aggressive, if that’s possible. Our drivers are pretty aggressive already, but we think this composite body will really allow them to bump and bang a whole lot more.”

Crikey.

What else is new? Well, independent rear suspension replaces the old solid rear axle setup, and the four-speed H pattern manual gearbox has been ditched in favour of a five-speed sequential unit. There are larger but lighter 18-inch centre-locking BBS forged wheels too, as well as wider Goodyear tyres to aid mechanical grip. The brakes are bigger with better thermal capacity, and crucially there are twin side-exit exhausts that look absolutely mega. 

The drivers will also get rear-mounted cameras now that their roofline is lower, and fans will apparently get access to far more camera angles too.

It’s hard to form an opinion without seeing any real-life racing, but all these changes sound promising. Also, which manufacturer would you like to see joining the sport as a result of the Next Gen cars? Answers in the comments below please…