NASCAR holds final Next Gen test at Phoenix

The next time the NASCAR Cup Series‘ Next Gen cars drive on a track, it will be in a race. Tuesday and Wednesday saw Phoenix Raceway host the seventh-generation car’s final organisational test ahead of its racing début in the Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

The test came two weeks after another two-day session was held at Daytona International Speedway, where the first points race with the Next Gen car will take place in the form of the Daytona 500 on 20 February. Conversely, Phoenix is the final race of the season on 6 November.

Reigning champion Kyle Larson was the fastest in the first day of testing, while Ryan Blaney led the way in the second. Much of the cars that tested at Daytona returned for Phoenix with the exception of Spire Motorsports, MBM Motorsports, and Rick Ware Racing. RWR’s ally Stewart-Haas Racing sent two cars of its own driven by Kevin Harvick and Chase Briscoe.

It was not an entirely clean session. On Tuesday, Kyle Busch spun in turn four but avoided hitting the wall. Todd Gilliland was not as fortunate a day later as his spin resulted in contact.

“We may have some general ideas, but there’s nothing concrete yet until we go out there and race,” said Joey Logano. “When you say comfortable, I’m far from comfortable. There’s nothing I really know for certain is coming my way.”

“I don’t have, honestly, one thing that bothers me about the car,” opined Daniel Suárez. “That’s my honest opinion, so I’m happy. I’m happy for the change, I’m happy for where the sport is heading, and I can’t wait to get started.”

Multiple tests have taken place of different forms since the car was revealed in late 2019, from the superspeedways of Daytona to the Charlotte Roval, which NASCAR used to set and refine the rules packages that the sanctioning body hopes will properly usher in a new era. And now, it’s time to race.

Day 1 results

Day 2 results