How NASCAR had to learn a harsh lesson ahead of its Next Gen arrival

A common misconception: NASCAR machines are powered by the least high-tech engine of any motorsport series on the planet – basically the same motors that they used in the 1960s.

In terms of architecture, the 358 cubic-inch, 90-degree pushrod V8s have been motivating America’s premier stock car series for decades – that much is true – but each engine on the Cup Series grid is actually stacked with Formula 1-level technology in radically designed cylinder heads with insanely tight tolerances that cost tens of thousands of dollars per piece to produce.

Each year, NASCAR’s manufacturers spend millions of dollars in an arms race to find tiny power gains or torque curve increments to beat their rivals. As Toyota Racing president David Wilson quips, “we needed saving from ourselves”, and one of NASCAR’s stated aims with the Next Gen car is to reduce costs across the board to make it not only a sustainable series, but one that can attract new OEMs. On the face of it, for 2022 the Next Gen project in year one was all about the car, not the engine.

“Although the architecture hasn’t fundamentally changed, the packaging of the engine of the new car has,” says Wilson. “So effectively we’ve had to tear off our entire front dress of the engine and re-engineer that.”

So far, so good – a repackaging task that could be engineered in good time. But then, very late in the day, something unexpected happened and from a direction that nobody had anticipated.

NASCAR's new era got underway at the Clash to mark the competitive debut of the Next Gen cars

Photo by: Lesley Ann Miller / Motorsport Images

NASCAR’s bread-and-butter tracks are 1.5-mile ovals, and the path everyone agreed to travel down was for Next Gen to be powered by 550bhp motors, based on experience with this package on the previous Gen 6 cars. But after multi-manufacturer testing with the new car on these tracks towards the end of last year, and feedback from the drivers, the sport arrived at a pretty shocking realisation. That this package sucked.

Wilson takes up the story: “While working with NASCAR to determine the right performance level of the engines to deliver the best racing, we realised the path of 550bhp engines for the intermediate tracks wasn’t right. Very, very late we all came to the same conclusion: we needed to be racing closer to 700bhp, but the problem is our supply chain was going down the path to the 550bhp engine. So that threw us for a loop. We’re all – the three manufacturers and the industry as a whole – uncomfortable together, in various capacities, but [making the change] is the correct formula.”

"We’re throwing haymakers at it. Working long hours, dealing with an injured supply chain – which is a global issue – but we’re all faced with the same challenges" Toyota Racing president David Wilson

When NASCAR made the announcement, it was almost Christmas, with the season just two months away from starting. What were the specific challenges of this switch from 550bhp to 670bhp motors? And what were the pitfalls of a change of direction? Doug Yates is Ford’s NASCAR engine guru and gives us his answers.

“Obviously the camshaft is tailored for more power going from the 500 to 670, so we had to finalise on that camshaft and order the parts and do the durability work,” says Yates.

“That last Charlotte test, when we finally decided that we were gonna go 670 across the board, that was the very first durability cycle that we really understood.  

“We took the data from the Charlotte test, built up an engine with those parts and ran a durability test. We actually had a failure and had to go back and make some adjustments to the camshaft to calm it down a little bit. We broke something on the exhaust side, so we had to go back and rework the camshaft and then order the parts to build all those engines, which, the main change for us was the valves.

Ford's Doug Yates played a key role in NASCAR's late engine changes ahead of 2022

Photo by: Nigel Kinrade / NKP / Motorsport Images

“The valve sizes have changed and we had to call our suppliers and say, ‘Hey, can you change these parts for us and get them here in time to build these engines?’ It was really a change in the design of the parts and to get that supply chain ratcheted back up to build these engines. Some of those are very tight; we’re tight on some lead-time items.”

Toyota suffered a similar experience, as Wilson explains: “The exhaust configuration, the fact that we don’t have the same connection, changed the torque curve significantly on that package. Right now, NASCAR has let the engine builders have free rein in terms of engine development, so we’ve been in an arms race to make sure our performance is optimised. The general assumption is that towards the end of this year we’ll be looking to lock down the engine development, to basically save ourselves from ourselves.

“In the meantime, we’re throwing haymakers at it. Working long hours, dealing with an injured supply chain – which is a global issue – but we’re all faced with the same challenges.”

Yates believes it’s the right decision and that some short-term supply chain pain will all be worth it if the racing is better: “I think the drivers really like it, so I think it’s the right thing to do for the sport, and the engine guys just have to make sure we can deliver, and I think we’re on track.”

Also, every crisis is an opportunity, right?

“What really excites us is that any time there’s drastic change, the teams and OEMs that embrace innovation are generally the ones that truly get out there, with a headstart,” says Wilson. “It’s an interesting challenge, because on a relative basis the margins we work to [with Next Gen] have contracted significantly – aerodynamically, mechanically – the parts are bought off the shelf. So we’re figuring out, just like everyone else, where the opportunities are.”

Every NASCAR manufacturer is braced for short-term pain due to the late changes which have been exacerbated by the global pandemic

Photo by: Nigel Kinrade / NKP / Motorsport Images

Toyota is in a unique position as the least-represented manufacturer in Cup, with just six cars in its fleet. In an unexpected development race, having fewer engines to build (NASCAR mandates one engine and one back-up per car per race) to satisfy a lesser demand, surely that speeds up the process…

“Absolutely,” smiles Wilson. “In terms of supply chain, and getting product developed and to market quicker, it’s always easier with a smaller group. What I love about NASCAR is while we attempt to tear each other’s throats out every Sunday, we work really well together – the three OEMs are all in this for the same reasons. As silly as it sounds, we need them to be successful to a degree. I’m proud of how we all worked together, along with NASCAR, to get where we are.”

That’s something else that hasn’t changed since the 1960s – do everything possible at your disposal to ensure you win, and that includes reacting faster to unexpected changes that get thrown at you.

The Next Gen era will get its first true test at the Daytona 500

Photo by: Matthew T. Thacker / NKP / Motorsport Images