NASCAR Next Gen Tag

By David Morgan, Associate Editor TALLADEGA, Ala. – Since the Next Gen car made its debut in the NASCAR Cup Series earlier this year, drivers have been concerned with the severity of the impacts they have been feeling in the cockpit. This week, those concerns were amplified even further when it was announced that Alex Bowman would have to sit out of Sunday’s Yellawood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway while he recovers from concussion-like symptoms following a crash last weekend at Texas. Bowman’s absence marks the second driver in the last 10Read More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Kevin Harvick has had enough. The safety of the Next Gen car in the NASCAR Cup Series has been a common topic during its inaugural season on track and Sunday night at Darlington Raceway, safety was back at the forefront again. Harvick, who was running inside the top-five with less than 100 laps remaining in the Cook Out Southern 500, suddenly had fire erupting from under the right-front wheel well as he ran down the frontstretch. As he drove into Turn 1, the fire grew largerRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Michael McDowell achieved a lifelong dream last season by winning the 2021 Daytona 500, his first win in the NASCAR Cup Series. A year later, he returns to the World Center of Racing proudly carrying the banner as the Daytona 500 champion, ready to defend his title in the first race of the Next Gen era. “It is awesome. It really is,” McDowell said of making his return as the defending winner. “The last few weeks with getting ready for the 500Read More

By Reid Spencer and Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service New Next Gen race car means radically different approach to pit stops DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Pit stops in the Daytona 500 will be fundamentally different this year—just ask Ricky Stenhouse Jr. It’s not just because the new NASCAR Cup Series Next Gen cars have gone to a single center lug instead of five lug nuts to secure each tire. And it’s not just because the fuel cell capacity has increased roughly eight percent to 20 gallons, increasing the time necessaryRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Fresh off its sweep of the Bluegreen Vacation Duels at Daytona, Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing may have found itself in some hot water with NASCAR less than 24 hours later. On Friday afternoon, NASCAR announced that it had “taken possession” of wheels from both RFK Racing and Team Penske, noting that they would be taking the confiscated items back to its R&D Center in Concord, North Carolina for further inspection. One of many redesigned parts on the NASCAR Next Gen car inRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – When the green flag flies on Sunday to kick off the 2022 Daytona 500, the NASCAR Cup Series will be venturing into unknown territory. For more than six decades, the sport has been making the pilgrimage to the Daytona high banks to win the sport’s most prestigious race and write themselves into the record book as Daytona 500 champion, but this year it’s a whole new ballgame. With the introduction of the Next Gen car for the 2022 season, drivers and teamsRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Anytime a new piece of equipment gets rolled out in real-world conditions, issues are sure to rear their head and Sunday’s debut of the NASCAR Next Gen car in the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum was no different. As the car was put through its paces on a purpose-built track inside the confines of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the demands of the quarter-mile track provided one of the toughest tests yet for the designs of the new car. Through the heat races and lastRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Since its inception in 1979, the Busch Light Clash has undergone a number of changes, but for the 2022 running, the season-opening exhibition race is readying for its biggest change yet. After being held at Daytona International Speedway as the opening salvo to Speedweeks throughout its existence, the race moves away from the birthplace of NASCAR out to the West Coast, as the confines of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and a purpose-built quarter-mile track await. Along with the unknown a new venue brings, the raceRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor AVONDALE, Ariz. – When the checkered flag waves on Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Championship at Phoenix Raceway, it will mark the end of an era. After a run of nine years, the current Gen 6 car, which has run through different iterations since 2013, will be retired and replaced by the Next Gen car, representing the biggest shakeup in the way NASCAR races in recent memory. As a part of championship weekend in Arizona, NASCAR President Steve Phelps took the podium for his annual State ofRead More