NASCAR confirmed Wednesday that Cup teams are receiving a rulebook bulletin detailing the updates to the Next Gen car for all road courses and most oval tracks measuring 1.058 miles or less in the distance.
Cup cars will run a simplified diffuser along with a handful of other updates. This change comes following driver feedback from a test at Phoenix in early December.
Details of the components include:
- 2023 short track/road course splitter stuffers
- No engine panel strakes
- 3-inch spoiler
- Simplified Diffuser
- Simplified Diffuser Strakes
The simplified diffuser will not be used at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for the preseason, non-points Busch Light Clash.
“At the test, we noticed an improvement in traffic. The car did not lose rear downforce when it yawed, which is an issue we have with the current car. The drivers would be able to slide around more on the short tracks and really have to be less careful about putting power down,” said Eric Jacuzzi, NASCAR’s vice president of vehicle performance.
“We felt that would be a benefit, and that was the big takeaway from the driver feedback. At the test, they felt they could really tell that it was more forgiving. They felt they could slide the car.”
The first race with the new package will take place on March 10 at Phoenix.