**The Future of NASCAR: Next Gen Car**

The next generation (Next Gen) car is a game-changer for the sport, with significant changes aimed at improving speed and handling. One of the key improvements is the use of slipstreaming, where the frontcar leaves in the air can actually improve the speedof the cars behind itthrough slipstreaming. However, this same hole means that there's less undistributed airfor the trailing car's aerodynamic partsto generate downforce.

Less downforce means less gripand lower cornering speeds. To address this, the Next Gen car has two big changes: a flat floor and a rear diffuser. These features not only increase downforce but also clean up dirty air. The old cup car's underside had all sorts of nooks and crannies that slow the air traveling underneath the car, creating high pressure areas that reduce downforce.

The Next Gen car's flat carbon fiber floorthat seals the underside allows air to flow more quickly underneath the carwith a flat floor, creating less pressure. The rear diffuser acts like an expansion chamber, increasing the speed of the airthat's escaping from underneath the car, further reducing air pressure. This creates down force and smooths out the turbulent wake.

The aerodynamic changes have created a problem because the Next Gen cars have more drag than ever before. At Next Gen testing, drivers noted that high-speed passing was now harder because there wasn't enough power once all that downforce started working. To address this, NASCAR decided to increase the baseline power package from 550 horsepower to 670 horsepower.

The increased power will be available for all tracks except the Super Speed race. The spoiler sizes will vary depending on the track type, with a relatively small four-inch rear spoiler being used in most cases. The Next Gen car is built more like a road racer and less like an oval track car than any previous generation of NASCAR cars.

The new car is designed to manage challenges that every race series has to deal with, including tire strategy, dirty air, and keeping the competition as close and exciting as possible. For fans, this means that the racing will be tighter than ever before.

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en- Five days from today,NASCAR is coming to a football stadiumand they're bringingtheir brand new stock car,The Next Gen.(car revving)We here at B2B got someinsider informationon the car specs.So we're gonna nerd out whilewe NASCAR out here today.You ready to getcha let's goget her (speaks gibberish).Let's go!Let's go around the circle!Left hand turns only!Let's go!(soft music)Thank you to Keeps forsponsoring today's video.In the distant future of 2026,hair loss has been eradicated on earth.But in a universe wheretwo out of three guysexperience some form ofmale pattern baldnessby the time they're 35,we're on a mission totackle universal hair loss.For we are-- Astro Keeps.- Led by me, the courageousbut polite, Captain Mane.With my first officer Moe Hawk.And we got Doc Mop Topperson.Look at all that hair.And junior officer plusmy wife's sister's sonwho happens to only be herebecause he got caughtshoplifting at a Ross, Fred Tips.We come in Keeps, which makeshair loss prevention easyby shipping your hair lossmedication directly to your doorevery three earth months.Plus you get access toreal doctors online.Now that's out of this world.Start your hair loss prevention todayby going to keeps.com/b2b,or clicking the link in the descriptionto receive 50% off your first order.And check back for further adventures of-- Astro Keeps.- To see the Next Gen in action,check out The Clash thisSunday, February 6th.That's the exhibition racewhich has kicked offevery season since 1979.For this year, instead of Daytona,NASCAR is coming toLA's Memorial Coliseum.The stadium that's betterknown for football,but was updated with a brandnew quarter mile asphalt trackin just six weeks.It's pretty sick.I'm gonna be there.So if you wanna come see me,come to that race, I guess.I'll be there.We already made a video on B2Babout the next Gen's body and frame,new gearbox, andindependent rear suspension.We spent hours talkingwith NASCAR insidersto get all the Next Gen info,and we've learned some new cool things.So in today's episode,we're gonna see moreof what's new with the Next Gen.Of course, not everyone ishappy about the new venue,or the new car.You probably are notgonna be able to convinceFlorida NASCAR fans thatThe Clash coming to LAis a good thing.But we can explain whyNext Gen is exciting,and why NASCAR is making the change.The main reason is to make NASCAR growby attracting new teams,sponsors, manufacturers, and fans.And one way to do that isby making their race carsmore like the road carsthat you and I can buy.Well, kind of can buy in like 20 years.Something you won't findon performance road carsis 15 inch wheels.So the Next Gen has beenupdated with 18 inch wheels.Those are forged aluminumas well, so they're light.But the new wheels aren'tjust for road car looksor less weight on the track.The old 15 by nine and a half steeliesweighed 27 pounds each.The standard 12 inch widetire adds another 24 poundsfor a combined weight over 50 pounds.Now next Gen Wheels are 18 by 12 inch.And if those were made out of steel,the wheel alone wouldweigh close to 50 pounds.The Next Gen tires are alsolarger at 14.4 inches wide,and that means steel wheelswould have crew memberswrestling nearly 80 poundsover the wall for pit stops.Can you imagine carrying around 80 pounds?Now you know what your grandma feels likewhen she had to carry your momaround when she was a baby.Mom burn!At the time we recorded this,official weights for the new wheelshaven't been announced, but like I said,we got the insider info.Our contact over at NASCAR saysthe new aluminum wheels weighed 26 pounds.That should keep the total weightof the wheel and tire about the same,and shouldn't have pitcrews working any harder.In fact, the job might begetting a little easierbecause those new aluminum wheelsuse a single center locking lug nut.Most race series likeFormula One use a single lug.Some fans are worried thiswill fundamentally changeNASCAR pit stops.But single center lugs requiregreater fastening torque.The wheel guns in Formula One can apply2,000 pound feet of force.And according to NASCAR, theirlugs will require more torquethan any other racing series.Initial testing has shownthat it takes half a secondfor a wheel changer to fullyengage a NASCAR single lug.So pit stops shouldonly be slightly faster.But pit stop speed isn'tthe reason for the change.During a tire change, getting20 lug nuts evenly torquedin a matter of secondsdoesn't really happen.With steel wheels, that's okay though.A wheel won't be damaged or fly offif one lug isn't tight enough.But aluminum wheels, they're different.They warp or deformmore easily than steel.According to NASCAR, an aluminum wheelattached with five lugs has a30% higher chance of failurethan a steel wheel.So switching to a single center lugensures there's even pressureholding the wheel on,and less chance of damage.The change to largerlighter aluminum wheelsisn't just for looks or forthe convenience of pit crews.Those wheels also let Next Genrun new tires and new brakes.We made an entire episodeabout how larger wheelsare going to change Formula One for 2022,and a lot of that appliesto NASCAR as well.Wider wheels means wider tires.The old NASCAR tires are 12 inches.Next Gen tires, they're 14.4 inches.That's like two something inches bigger.That means more grip while accelerating,cornering, and braking.Switching from a 15 inchto 18 inch diameter wheelsalso means lower profile tires.Old NASCAR tire had a 6.6 inch sidewall.Next Gen? Five inches.Tire sidewall does someof the suspensions jobabsorbing bumps and keeping the treadin contact with the road.But sidewalls aren't tuneablelike springs and shocks.So shorter sidewall flexes less,and that lets teams dialin the suspension morefor sharper handling and moreprecise direction changes.The Next Gen tires are a newly developedGoodyear Eagle race compoundthat's softer than before.They'll have higher initialgrip, but also more fall off.That means that the tiresare gonna wear faster, losing grip.Our insider at NASCAR told usthat predictable tire degradationto increase the role oftire management strategyis one of the goals for the new compound.If you follow F1, thatprobably sounds familiar.If you watch F1 and NASCAR,leave a comment down below.You're one of the three people that do.One thing that nobody wantsdegrading during the raceis the brakes, and thenew wheels help there too.The current NASCAR brakediscs are 12.7 front and rear.Bigger wheels means Next Gen could fit15 inch disc in the frontand 14s in the rear.Those do a better jobpreventing brake fade.Just like a larger radiator,the greater surface areaof a larger brake discwill dissipate more heatand prevent that fade.If you wanna learn more aboutbrakes, click right here.We did a whole episode on it.Went to Wilwood.Sick.Got 'em on the catfish now.What's up?Whether it's NASCAR or Formula One,every team has to dealwith the same basic issuesof things like grip, heat, pitch strategy,and how to conquer allthose problems to win races.One of the biggest challengesin any form of racing, aerodynamics.A lot of what's new about the Next Genis specifically targeted atthe problem of dirty air.Competitive excitingracing depends on carsbeing able to make passes.Dirty air is the turbulentwake that a race car producesas it moves through the air.That can slow the cars behind itmaking it difficult oreven impossible to pass.On the straight, dirty airisn't always a problem.The hole that the frontcar leaves in the aircan actually improve the speedof the cars behind itthrough slipstreaming.But in corners, that same hole meansthat there's less undistributed airfor the trailing car's aerodynamic partsto generate downforce.Less downforce means less gripand lower cornering speeds.The Next Gen car has two big changesthat not only increases downforce,but also cleans up dirty air.A flat floor, and a rear diffuser.If you look underneath the old cup car,say when one goes airborne,you can see all thesuspension, the drive line,even the bottom of the engine.All those nooks and cranniesand exposed mechanical bitsslow the air traveling underneath the car.That creates a high pressure area,which like an airplane'swing, creates liftor reduction in downforce.The uneven surface alsocreates turbulence,and that air escapes outthe back as dirty air.Now, Next Gen uses aflat carbon fiber floorthat seals the underside.Air can flow more quicklyunderneath the carwith a flat floor, creating less pressure.Next Gen combines thatwith a rear diffuser.That acts like an expansion chamberincreasing the speed of the airthat's escaping from underneath the car,further reducing air pressure.That creates down force,It also smooths that air's reintegrationinto the higher pressure ambient air,reducing the car's turbulent wake.Meaning, Next Gen racing'sgonna be tighter than ever.And with new stronger carbon fiberreinforced plastic body panels,it'll be able to frickingtake a little dash and bash.So we can slam into each othera little (indistinct) racing.You ever heard of bumper car racing?That's not a thing.The aerodynamic changeshave created a problembecause the Next Gen cars havemore drag than ever before.As speed increases, theengines have to work harderto overcome the aerodynamiceffect of the new bodies.At Next Gen testing, driversnoted that high speed passingwas now harder becausethere wasn't enough poweronce all that downforce started working.That's actually one problemthat's pretty easy to solve.All you need is more power.And one thing that's notnew with the Next Genis the power plant.Unrestricted NASCAR engines are capableof over 900 horsepower,but that's way too much for most races.With the old cup cars,that power was restricteddepending on the type of track,and can be as little as 550 horsepower.So initially, 550 was gonnabe the base power packagefor Next Gen as well.And they combined that withan eight inch rear spoilerthat created a lot of drag,and this got some fans complainingexpecting the cars to be too slow.But after testing and listeningto the drivers and teams,NASCAR decided the baseline for Next Genwill be 670 horsepowerwith a relatively smallfour inch rear spoiler.Ensuring that there'splenty of power on tap.670 will be the power for all tracksother than the Super Speed race.But spoiler sizes, they're gonna varyaccording to our sources.With it's focus on handling,it's clear that the Next Gen caris built more like a road racerand less like an oval track carthan anything that's come before it.But overall, the new car isdesigned to manage challengesthat every race series has to deal with.Tire strategy, dirty air,and keeping the competitionas close and exciting as possible.As for NASCAR's future,we can expect to seeeven more changes in years to come.Even said that Next Genputs the sport on a pathto incorporate electrification.Uh-oh.And we were also told that the Next Genis just a first step towardshaving car technologyin a race series that's attractiveto European manufacturers.- It looks pretty good.- Donut has posters?- Yeah, Donut has posters.- Donut has posters?- Yeah, Donut has posters.- Donut has posters?- Yep, Donut has posters.- Wow.- Wow.- Wow.- Wow. Posters.Hang 'em in your bedroom, your office,or have them professionallyframed for your garage.Get your Donut posterstoday at donutmedia.com.- Wow.- Wow.- Wow.- Wow. Posters.- Thanks guys so much forwatching this episode of B2B.We appreciate you.You guys like NASCAR stuff?You're gonna go to the NASCAR race?I'm gonna be there.So if you're gonna be there, hit me up.I'll be walking around the pits, I'm sure.In the stands cheering on.Follow us here at Donut @donut media.Follow me @JeremiahBurton,Click like, subscribe,all that good stuff.That really helps us out.'Til next week.Bye for now.