Last week saw all three of the NASCAR national series celebrate throwback weekend at Darlington Raceway. While the on-track paint schemes paid homage to drivers and cars of the stock car racing’s storied history, the big motorsports news from earlier in the week was all about the future. Last Wednesday, all three of the sport’s manufacturers officially unveiled their models for the new Next Gen Car which will make its debut in the NASCAR Cup Series starting with the Daytona 500 next year. Read on for a closer look at various pros and cons that the Next Gen Car can be expected to have on the racing.
NASCAR Next Gen Car Overview
The Next Gen Cars certainly look amazing. The designs from all three manufacturers more closely resemble a regular passenger sports car than their Gen-6 model predecessors. It harkens back to the old saying, “Win on Sundays, sell on Mondays”. This of course referred to the natural spike in manufacturer car sales early in a workweek after winning at the NASCAR Cup Series level over the preceding weekend.
However, like anything else, there is always more to a book than just the cover. While most of the characteristics of these new cars are worth getting excited about, it’s also prudent to note some changes that may ultimately be detrimental to the racing from the point of view of NASCAR fans.
Next Gen Car Breakdown | Pros
More Aggressive Racing
One of the most notable changes from the current Gen-6 Car to the new Next Gen Car is the body material. Sheet metal has long comprised the body of stock cars at the premier level of the sport. Starting next year, that will no longer be the case. The Next Gen Cars are built out of much more durable composite body panels.
In terms of the impact these new car bodies will have on racing, fans can gain a lot of insight through the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The same composite body panels that comprise the Next Gen Car have been used at the sport’s second-tier series since 2017. Even the manufacturing company, Five Star Fabricating, Inc., is constant between the two. In fact, the material used at the NASCAR Cup series level starting next year will be even stronger than that which presently adorns the Xfinity cars.
The composite bodies have led to greater sustainability through aggressive contact racing at the Xfinity level. The same can be expected out of the Next Gen Cars. Drivers will be able to beat and bang more without jeopardizing their equipment. No NASCAR fan ever has said no to aggressive racing. The new Next Gen Car body materials should only help produce more of it.
Emphasis On Driver Talent
The Next Gen Cars are symmetrical, a feature that will go a long way towards emphasizing driver racing ability as opposed to team set up in the garage leading up to a race. The skew and tail offset that teams have used to create right-side sideforce have been removed from the new models. The Next Gen Cars will sit roughly two inches higher off the ground than their Gen-6 predecessors. The tires will also be bigger.
The aerodynamics surrounding the new NASCAR Cup Series rides will also be changing quite a bit. Wind tunnels and engineer simulations have proven effective in perfecting the setup of the Gen-6 model. Adjustments to combat this point of emphasis in the new Next Gen Cars include the increased height, a new front splitter and a flat underbody. Perhaps one of the more fascinating adjustments is a rear diffuser to channel the air flowing under the car in a way that will lessen the impact of “dirty” air on cars running directly behind. Less aero emphasis is huge for maximizing the on-track talent of the drivers.
Enhanced Fan Experience
In what might be the best part of all for the fans, the Next Gen models are expected to allow for in-car cameras onboard every single NASCAR Cup Series car. Additional angles, HD cameras and even 360 cameras are all on the table for inclusion. For fans watching the races, this feature is sure to be a home run. Television broadcast partners will undoubtedly be pleased too.
Next Gen Car Breakdown | Cons
Pit Road Prominence
One of the staples of NASCAR pit stops is the undoing and tightening of the tire lug nuts. The Next Gen Cars will be a big transition from the current Gen-6 models in that wheels will only be fastened by a single lug nut as opposed to five. In terms of a fan’s perspective of the sport, it’s hard to consider this anything but a negative. The image below shows a side-by-side comparison of the five-lug nut Gen-6 wheel and single-lug nut Next Gen wheel.
NASCAR claims that the time difference between the Gen-6 wheels and Next Gen model is only 0.3 seconds. However, we have seen situations regularly where a single lug nut being left too loose has proven detrimental. It will also be interesting to see how this change impacts the weekly post-race penalty reports. Those are usually dominated by lug nut errors. Lessening the excitement on pit road is a definite con.
Team Setup Adjustments
One of the major points of emphasis of the Next Gen Cars is to bring driver talent to the forefront. This is done at the expense of pre-race team engineering and setup, but another component of this could actually prove to be a major con when it comes to racing with these new models. NASCAR higher-ups spoke of the increased weekly team adjustments as though it was a significant positive.
That being said, a greater variance in car set-up from track to track and more required adjustments also leave a wider margin for error. If teams have to put more work into adjusting a car week to week, there is a greater likelihood that they could miss on set-up altogether. So while the impact of aerodynamics will be reduced overall, there are other potential pitfalls. If some teams nails the increased set-up adjustments and others miss horribly, this could lead to significant discrepancies in performance on the track, regardless of driver talent.
