NASCAR had an incredible first season with the NextGen car in track racing; However, the issues that have been a topic of conversation in recent months revolve around security.
Kurt Busch suffered a concussion at Pocono Raceway which ended his full-time career while Alex Bowman’s playoff run ended after a concussion at Texas Motor Speedway in the round of 16.
Another hot topic is fires linked to the NextGen car. Fortunately, it appears that NASCAR has changes in the works to potentially resolve the issue before the 2023 Daytona 500.
Related: NASCAR discusses big changes coming for NextGen car in 2023
NASCAR Knows Root Cause of Fires on NextGen Car, Working on Changes
NASCAR is working on the NextGen car for the 2023 season with multiple changes expected across the car. One of the changes will be fires which have been a topic of conversation.
Throughout the 2022 season, there have been 10 fires that occurred out of nowhere without any catalyst, such as an accident. Nine of those fires came from the Ford camp, with Alex Bowman and Chevrolet having the problem at Darlington Raceway.
NASCAR senior vice president of competition Scott Miller has joined the group. SiriusXM NASCAR Radio last month to discuss the situation surrounding the fires and the NextGen car.
“I think the root cause of fires is that rubber builds up in the wrong areas and starts a small fire, which can obviously catch other parts and pieces on fire. We’ve come a very long way on this and I think we have some things in the works this winter.
Scott Miller on the NextGen car’s fire problems
The NextGen car will undergo many changes over the offseason, including a new rear bumper structure, rear clip, hood, nose, and cooling vents on the hood. Additionally, it seems likely that changes will be seen around the headrest.
NASCAR wasn’t expected to roll out a perfect version of the NextGen car for the 2022 season and while safety shouldn’t have been an issue, seeing these changes is a step in the right direction.
Official changes for the 2023 season will likely be known closer to the Busch Light Clash in early February.
