NASCAR plans additional testing for the Next Gen car next season, a series official revealed during Monday’s test at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Twenty-one cars are taking part in the Next Gen test Monday and Tuesday on the Roval. Among those testing Monday were Roval winner Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr., Ryan Blaney and Daniel Suarez.
This is the first of four organizational tests before next season. The other organizational tests will be:
- Nov. 17-18 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway oval
- Dec. 14-15 at Phoenix Raceway
- Jan. 11-12 at Daytona International Speedway
The 2022 season begins with the Feb. 6 NASCAR Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
John Probst, NASCAR senior vice president of racing innovation, said Monday that NASCAR also plans three other organizational tests next year.
NASCAR plans to have a test at Martinsville Speedway, but it is expected to come after the April 9 race there.
NASCAR also plans a test at either Las Vegas Motor Speedway or Kansas Speedway. Either test will take place before that track’s race weekends. The first Cup race at Las Vegas next year is March 6. The first Cup race at Kansas next year is May 15.
The other organizational test could come at either a road course or another short track.
Probst also said NASCAR will have a Goodyear tire test at Bowman-Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to prepare for the Clash in Los Angeles.
NASCAR also will do a tire test at Wythe Raceway, a half-mile high-banked clay track in Rural Retreat, Virginia. That test will be for the Bristol Dirt race. Camping World Truck Series driver Stewart Friesen will do the test.
NASCAR also will have a tire test at Atlanta Motor Speedway, which is being repaved and reconfigured.
Probst also detailed the packages to be used next season in Cup.
For road courses and short tracks, it will be 670 horsepower and a 4-inch spoiler.
That is the package teams ran in Monday’s test at the Charlotte Roval. Probst said lap times Monday were more than a second faster than the lap times in Sunday’s race. He cited the wider tire, better brakes, improved shifting with the sequential shift and aerodynamics of the car as factors for the faster lap times even with less horsepower than what was run in Sunday’s race.
For intermediate tracks, the plan is a 550-horsepower package with an 8-inch spoiler.
The package for Daytona and Talladega has not been determined. It will be finalized at the January test.
