Could NASCAR see a complete overhaul of the rear suspension for 2021?
The Gen-6 car made it’s debut on February 24, 2013. In 2021, NASCAR will debut the Gen-7 race car.
There’s not a whole lot of information on the pending NASCAR race car. Though, it appears that’s because they haven’t exactly figured out what it’s going to be yet.
But, if rumors are true… It would be a major change to oval racing.
Kyle Busch forwards rumors of the Gen-7 car
What do you know about 2021?
“There’s a lot of unknowns. There’s a lot of ideas that everybody has kinda thrown out there. What they want to see or what they’d like to see for Gen-7,” Kyle Busch stated.
“I’ve even heard independent rear suspension (IRS) being thrown around and talked about. That would be just a complete overhaul of anything that we’ve all ever done in our sport.”
“I’m not sure where they’re at, at the current moment. I think 2021 is a tight timeline to get all of it done by. We’ll see how aggressive they get and what comes down the line.”
What is an independent rear suspension?
Go outside and look in your garage. You have one or a few of them sitting right in there.
It means each wheel has it’s own suspension that’s unrelated to the other wheel. That’s not anything I’ve seen in any oval car thus far.
Currently, there’s a solid rear axle in NASCAR and every other oval series. Springs are attached to the left and right side of the same part and act together on the same axle.
If the solid axle goes up on the right due to a bump, the it goes down on the left. It created unbalanced moments inside the car.
In independent suspensions, each wheel acts on it’s own for drive and suspension. If the right side goes up, the left is basically unaffected. It produces less un-sprung weight and improves corning abilities.
Nearly all modern cars now feature independent suspensions.
Softer NASCAR tires?
With the 2019 rules, the cars are now slower. For years, Goodyear has brought a more durable tire to the race track to keep up with the speeds of the cars.
Do the slower cars open the door for a softer tire?
“I say absolutely because I think so. But, they’re going to say that we’re going through the corners just as fast. If not faster than we were before. So, they can’t create a tire that’s softer because it will blister,” Kyle Busch continued.
“But, the way I felt it in Vegas, we weren’t to the complete limit of the tire, by ourselves. When we’re out there running wide open, we’re under the tire.”
“You’re not slipping it. Not slipping the front, you’re not slipping the rear. You’re just driving the car, around in a circle.”
“I think they could still make it softer, in order to create falloff. To give us that more driveable feel that all of us would like to have for the race.”
More
NASCAR announces the Gen-7 car
Marcus Smith talks the future of NASCAR
Everything is in play for the future of NASCAR
NASCAR is considering more short tracks for 2020 and beyond
