After years of planning, production and anticipation, NASCAR and it’s manufacturers — Toyota, Chevrolet and Ford — unveiled their Next Gen car on Wednesday. After being pushed back a year because of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the car is set to make its NASCAR Cup Series debut with the 2022 season-opening Daytona 500.
The development of the Next Gen car has been a collaborative effort between NASCAR and its manufacturers, and it’s designed to be more cost effective for teams, to be safer for drivers and to more closely resemble the products sold to the general public, compared with the current Generation 6 car. And, of course, this car is supposed to intensify the quality of racing.
“It accelerates quick, it stops quicker, it turns quicker, it’s nimble,” Kurt Busch said after testing the car at Charlotte Motor Speedway in November.
“I don’t want to use the word ‘steroids’ – it’s just the car is more effective, and the car is more sensitive to changes and to feel. … You feel everything more vividly.”
#NextGen is here.
2022 will be headlined by the Toyota TRD Camry, the Ford Mustang and the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. pic.twitter.com/plphH4h7bt
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 5, 2021
In February, NASCAR announced the development of the Next Gen car was complete, and teams are expected to be able to begin building their new cars in the coming weeks.
Here are six things NASCAR fans should know about the new car.
New episodes of The Sneak: The Disappearance of Mario Rossi are out now
