The Next Gen cars are here – how will they impact NASCAR moving forward?

By Bob Pockrass
FOX Sports NASCAR Writer

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The 2022 NASCAR Cup Series cars look pretty sweet.

Now the big question: Are looks deceiving?

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The cars, dubbed the Next Gen, will debut with the 2022 season. NASCAR has run tests with at most two prototype cars, so how they will race is still to be determined. NASCAR and manufacturers have spent hours running simulations, but they won’t know until they get on the race track how the cars will handle, how clean air will impact a driver out front and how much turbulent air will impact those behind him.

"I'm excited about the challenge. I think it's going to be tough," defending Cup champion Chase Elliott said. "There's going to be things with this car I haven't seen as a race car driver yet.

"Until you get on track and work through it, it's going to be tough. I'm looking forward to all the things that come with that, trying to reinvent yourself as a driver to see what you have to do to be good."

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Kurt Busch tested a version of the car on both the Charlotte road course and oval. It was a prototype that met the target wind tunnel numbers but wasn’t specific to the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, Ford Mustang or Toyota Camry those manufacturers will field in 2022.

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"The car [on the road course] was much more agile with its acceleration, deceleration and, primarily, its maneuverability to switch back, left to right," Busch said. "And the car was an impressive, easy two seconds quicker on the Roval circuit.

"And then, out on the oval, the car had a weird feel, with the independent rear suspension on corner entry and then corner exit with the aerodynamics that we were still balancing out. And so, I think the key thing for any driver to be successful, no matter where you are and what you’re doing, you have to adapt."

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When NASCAR introduced its "Gen-6" car in 2013, it trumpeted that it looked closer to the production vehicle. It was better but still not particularly effective.

The Next Gen does look better, and it will resonate with those who are passionate for cars, although there are probably fewer of those car fanatics than there were 10 or 20 years ago.

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NASCAR will need great racing – close racing with the ability to pass where the driver makes a big difference – to enthrall fans who aren’t into cars or performance but instead follow personalities, drama and close racing.

NASCAR hopes that will happen because teams are going to be buying the chassis and the body of the cars. Teams no longer will manufacture the cars themselves but instead will buy the parts and assemble them.

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"I would never refer to this as a kit car because I don't think that's what it is at all," NASCAR President Steve Phelps said. "We've tried to determine what's important to the race fans, those things that are most important to them.

"Those things that are most important to the race fans are the things that they're going to see – the skill of the drivers, the skill of the crew, that chemistry that is just between a driver and a crew chief to get the balance of the car right. All those things are what are going to make great racing."

Bob Pockrass has spent decades covering motorsports, including the past 30 Daytona 500s. He joined FOX Sports in 2019 following stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @bobpockrass. For more up-to-date news on all things NASCAR, click here to register for alerts on the FOX Sports app!