The next generation of NASCAR Cup Series racing has been announced with the arrival of the new ultimate stock cars. NASCAR’s three automakers released their models for the new season at The Park Expo in Charlotte, North Carolina. It marked the public debut of the Next-Gen Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, the Ford Mustang, and the Toyota TRD Camry. Automakers also showed off some of those car-specific characteristics, which introduced plenty of new components. Some have already shown up on testing prototypes, but others were also seen for the first time in the NASCAR industry.
According to NASCAR officials, “If you look at where Gen-6 is today, there’s a big component of it that’s around wind tunnels and simulation,” NASCAR Senior Vice President John Probst said, referring to the Cup Series’ current model, which made its competition debut in 2013.
“And while that will always be in our sport and rightfully so, we felt like we needed to have that at a level that’s commensurate with the amount of attention that the fans get out of it. We don’t sell tickets to the wind tunnel or to watch engineers run simulations, so just trying to keep things focused on the race track…” he continued.
In this upcoming season, teams will now be able to shape and style the bodies of their respective cars. NASCAR officials will have to verify the design to make sure it meets the requirements of the cup series.
Traditionally, the bodies of cars were constructed out of sheet metal, but now teams are able to use reinforced carbon fiber plastic panels. The new cars have been updated with technology and aerodynamic innovations, which also leads teams to experiment and be creative with new designs to gain an advantage over other teams. NASCAR is truly a sport of innovation.
NASCAR cars are known for their classic 5 Lugnut design. For the new season, teams are switching over from this 5 Lug design to center-lock wheels, which are widely used in European circuits, especially in Formula 1. Crews in Formula 1 often set pitstop times of 1-2 seconds compared to Nascar’s 12-13 second stops. As of now, the stock cars are still in the testing phase at various tracks, which will likely remain the case until winter.
While testing is still ongoing, there are still a lot of unknowns concerning the final designs of the cars and season, and it will be interesting to see ways the teams can innovate and experiment with the cars in the new season.
