NASCAR has completed initial development of its next-generation Cup Series car but it’s far from a finished product.
The car will make its official debut a year from now during Daytona Speedweeks in 2022 but could be raced in some unofficial capacity sooner than that, with teams expected to begin constructing their cars in June.
For all intents and purposes, the Next-Gen is a spec car with the parts and pieces provided by single-source suppliers.
It’s also unlike anything in the recent history of the sport. The Next-Gen features a six-speed sequential transmission, independent rear suspension, 18” wheels and wider, lower-profile tires with a single-lug assembly.
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Even refueling could look drastically different next season with a proposed clamp-on refueling hose, rather than a crewman hoisting a gas container, one of many practices NASCAR could choose to borrow from IMSA -- its road racing sister company.
While NASCAR has completed the initial development, it stands to reason that the platform will continue to evolve once teams have built cars and begin their organizational tests. Those will be scheduled later this summer.
NASCAR says initial development is complete, but like any technically complicated process, there have been challenges along the way.
The earliest tests revealed a car that was incredibly challenging to drive, but it wasn’t clear if it was due to the decreased side force built into the P3 Prototype, or because the car was still a work in progress.
William Byron pushed the car into its first two incidents, a spin and a brush with the wall on March 4 of last year at Auto Club Speedway in Southern California. Joey Logano tested the car at Phoenix in November 2019 and said he had to "wrestle" the car.
"We didn’t have the best test but I think they learned a lot," Byron said. "I had just raced at California a couple of days before, so I had a clear idea of what the current car does. I don’t know if that was the best approach to testing because I was expecting a certain grip level and it was never really there. Plus, we had about a 30 mile per hour wind."
While a car that is challenging to drive isn’t necessarily a bad thing for the highest level of the sport, some of the final tests of this development cycle revealed challenges that needed to be addressed regarding the Woodward produced steering components.
The steering rack gave Erik Jones fits when he tested the car at Homestead in January 2020.
The steering continued to be twitchy when Kurt Busch and Martin Truex Jr. conducted the first two-car tests with a pair of prototype Next-Gen cars on both configurations at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Both champions agreed that it was the steering response on the oval portion that needed immediate attention.
"The feel in the steering was so far off that it made Truex and I look at each other awkwardly and say, 'we are going to be on tip toes around each other' while also trying to learn the aero," Busch said.
Busch said it was a "eyes wide open moment for NASCAR and the teams"
Truex already runs one of the quickest steering boxes in the field on intermediate tracks, and the Next-Gen responded way too quickly even for his tastes.
"On the road course, it was pretty good," Truex said. "We made it fairly normal feeling. Where we had our biggest issues was when we ran on the oval. I would be interested to hear what changes they made and how it changed things."
NASCAR was interested too, and they invited Busch back for a follow-up test on January 12 on the Charlotte oval after making changes based on their feedback.
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"The improvements we made to the steering (made it) so it could handle the loads," Busch said. "And then give it the proper feedback so we could dial-in the set-up.
"And lastly, one thing I’m trying to keep up with, I know everyone’s driving styles. Some drivers like faster steering boxes, and some people like slower, some like less feedback through the wheel and some want more. It’s a driver preference, and we need to get that big box opened up so everyone can choose what they want, but also have the reliability in the steering system."
And that reliability is where drivers were struggling during the tests over the past year.
"We came into a couple of sequences where there was a lack of pressure in the steering valve, the T-Bar that was designed and engineered as a change didn’t work properly. Some of it is troubleshooting and some of it is getting the feel and creating a box so every driver can get that feel they prefer like we have now."
Ultimately, it’s not a bad thing that NASCAR is coming across issues with the new car now, because it’s simply part of the R&D process. The car was originally intended to debut this season, but it was pushed back a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and those extra 12 months were instrumental in solving problems like this one.
"Where we were and where we are is great progress," Busch said. "I’ve had different team owners and drivers call me, and it’s just a matter of finding the right element for everybody, the manufacturer, the feel for the drivers and the pricing for the owners."
The next issue Busch wants to see addressed is cockpit cooling and ventilation.
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The Next-Gen features a split exhaust system -- which is why the car sounds much different than its predecessor. The system also now runs underneath the driver on their left sides. Simply stated, the cockpit gets too hot even in the coldest months of the year.
"We need better insulation, more venting and a cooler situation," Busch said. "I have only driven the car in November and in January, and I would say it was already on the hot side of what it felt like after a 25-lap run.
"I am sure we can get that fixed and have more venting and airflow within the car."
Jared C. TiltonGetty Images
All told, Busch is really excited about the future of the car with its evolutionary intentions and cost-containment initiatives.
"There are so other many good qualities in the car, with the brakes, the sequential gearbox, suspension, and all kinds of different aero components that I know they can bolt on or take off to make the car as adapt to all the different style tracks," Busch said.
"[Definitely] lots of positives all the way around, and another full year of development will make a great introductory piece for 2022."
Ultimately, whatever NASCAR wants the car to be, it will largely become something else once the teams have provided a rule book and begin to seek ways to exploit it. That happened with the Car of Tomorrow and the Gen-6. It will happen with the Next-Gen too.
Truex just hopes it’s something that allows the best drivers to showcase their abilities and complete passes in dirty air -- something that has been exacerbated by the current NA18D high downforce rules package.
NASCAR officials have repeatedly stated that the current regulations are intended to serve as a bridge between the two cars.
"We’ve only ran on track with two cars together so far, and a lot of things are going to change between now and when the teams start building the cars, and we start testing them and figuring out ways to get around the setup," Truex said. "There is so much different about it with the independent rear suspension and the way the rear differential is, the suspension, the shocks, the springs, you name it. It’s a whole different ballgame
"Overall picture in my eyes: We need something that you can get up behind a guy and at a mile-and-a-half track get near his bumper in the corners. That’s something that needs to happen, and we haven’t been able to do that really in the past few seasons. Hopefully, we can get back to that somehow."
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