NASCAR's First Big Next Gen Oval Test Was a Rocky Start

NASCAR's First Big Next Gen Oval Test Was a Rocky Start

NASCAR completed its largest test of the brand-new Next Gen Cup car at Charlotte Motor Speedway's oval last week. The results? A lot of promise on many technical aspects, but a need for improvement in how the cars interact with each other in traffic. NASCAR's First Big Next Gen Oval Test Was a Rocky Start.

The Charlotte oval test was the debut of a number of changes to try to alleviate cockpit heat with the Next Gen car. The changes appear to be working, but some had an impact on handling. NASCAR's First Big Next Gen Oval Test Was a Rocky Start.

The first day of testing showed that the cars were a couple seconds slower around the Charlotte oval than the outgoing Generation 6 cars. Variables like engine power, weight, and the aerodynamics all played a part. But the changes made to reduce temperatures in the cabin–like the rear window slits–also had an impact on the aerodynamics which further slowed them down. NASCAR's First Big Next Gen Oval Test Was a Rocky Start.

Drivers we spoke to were mostly pleased with how the cars drove on their own. Previous issues, like the lack of steering response, appear to have been improved thanks to collaborative efforts between the teams, NASCAR, and the vendors. Drivers felt the new cars were more challenging to drive, but many were not pleased with how they drove in traffic and the impacts of dirty air.

While most drivers didn't go into specifics, it is apparent from watching that dirty air from the lead car has an inordinate impact on the cars behind. This is exacerbated even further by the fact that the cars are running wide open around the track most of the time. Tire wear is still fairly minimal, with Trackhouse Racing's Ross Chastain commenting that he saw around two seconds of tire fall-off over a 35-lap run at which point he had to start lifting.

While this is an improvement over the most recent combination which saw only about a second of fall-off over long runs, it still means that teams could stretch tires, like in the recent Coca-Cola 600, instead of having a variety of strategies and organic passing due to tire wear.

So NASCAR's First Big Next Gen Oval Test Was a Rocky Start

Source : https://www.roadandtrack.com/news/a38322362/nascars-first-big-next-gen-oval-test-was-a-rocky-start/