NASCAR pays tribute to champions, other honorees in 2020 Awards special

Posted on November 18, 2020November 18, 2020 by Staff Report

It may have lacked the red carpet and some of the trappings of a full-fledged toast with a Nashville twang, but NASCAR cheered its champions and other honorees in style Wednesday evening with a new-look 2020 NASCAR Awards celebration.

Cup Series champion Chase Elliott was the final guest of honor, joining Xfinity Series champion Austin Cindric and Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series title-winner Sheldon Creed among those receiving recognition in the 90-minute special. The show replaced the traditional Champion’s Week festivities in Nashville, Tennessee, after COVID-19’s spread forced its cancelation.

But some traditions remained intact, with Elliott taking the last curtain call as the newly crowned Cup Series champ. Even after his victory in the Phoenix Raceway finale and a roaring welcome in his triumphant return to his hometown of Dawsonsville, Georgia, the 23-year-old driver said the magnitude of reaching the sport’s pinnacle still hasn’t sunk in.

“It’s been amazing,” Elliott said. “I feel like everything I could ever ask for and then some in these last two weeks have just been incredible. I feel like it’s still kind of a dream and things are not real. So, just been trying to take it all in.”

NBC Sports’ Marty Snider and Kelli Stavast hosted the event, and NASCAR president Steve Phelps joined vice president of racing development Ben Kennedy in presenting awards and acknowledgements. But the event did summon some of the musical flair Nashville is known for, as Chris Stapleton opened the special with the TV debut of his song, “Arkansas.”

Seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson was honored with a tribute and one of the sport’s highest accolades, the Bill France Award of Excellence. The trophy, which recognizes extraordinary accomplishments and contributions to stock-car racing, is not awarded annually. This year, the presentation coincided with the end of Johnson’s full-time racing career.

And because no NASCAR Awards show would be complete without a celebrity surprise, actor Matthew McConaughey made an appearance with a video message for Johnson, saying that “in triumph or defeat, he always exuded the class that made us proud to be fans of this great sport.”

NASCAR also revealed the winners of this year’s NMPA Most Popular Driver Awards, with Elliott leading the way in the Cup Series for the third consecutive year. Justin Allgaier repeated as the top vote-getter in the Xfinity Series, and rookie Zane Smith was honored as most popular in Gander Trucks.

Smith was doubly recognized, formally introduced as the series’ Sunoco Rookie of the Year after securing the honor during NASCAR’s championship weekend earlier this month. Cole Custer (Cup Series) and Harrison Burton (Xfinity Series) were the other honorees.

In other awards and recognitions presented during Wednesday’s special:

• Bubba Wallace was recognized as the 2020 Comcast Community Champion of the Year, with a $60,000 donation made to his Live to Be Different Foundation. The award, which honors NASCAR industry members for their philanthropic work, was initially presented Nov. 6.

• Charlene Greer, representing the Boys & Girls Clubs of Volusia and Flagler (Florida) counties, was hailed for winning the 10th annual Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award on Nov. 5. The NASCAR Foundation awarded Greer’s charity a $100,000 contribution.

• NASCAR’s four premier partners — Busch, Coca-Cola, GEICO, Xfinity — were honored with the 2020 NASCAR Marketing Achievement Award.

• Ford was recognized for winning the manufacturer’s championship in the Cup Series. Chevrolet took top automaker honors in the Xfinity Series and Gander Trucks.

• Each national-series champion was presented with a gold 1/12-scale replica of his title-winning vehicle from Goodyear. All three champions were also honored with the Sunoco Diamond Performance Award.

Posted on November 18, 2020November 18, 2020 by Staff Report

The fans have spoken. Justin Allgaier has been named the NASCAR Xfinity Series Most Popular Driver for the second straight year.

The driver of the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet finished second in the final 2020 Xfinity Series standings after making it to the Championship 4 for the fourth time in five years. The series vet bunched together three victories in six-race stretch in the late summer, early fall to build the momentum necessary to make a run to the finale at Phoenix Raceway, where he finished fifth, ceding the title to champion Austin Cindric.

Allgaier, 34, has now won the award for the second time in his career. He took the mantle last year from former teammate Elliott Sadler, who had won the fan-voted honor for three consecutive years. Sadler retired from full-time racing after the conclusion of the 2018 season, paving the way for Allgaier’s ascension in the voting last year.

Allgaier is known for his affable attitude and fan-friendly demeanor. The former Cup Series full-timer finished the year with a pair of Richmond Raceway wins and another at Dover International Speedway, 11 top-five finishes and 19 top 10s in 33 races. He’s up to 14 wins all time in the Xfinity Series, and this season’s runner-up points finish was his best to date. Allgaier also filled in for Jimmie Johnson at the Cup Series level for one race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway while the seven-time champ recovered from COVID-19.

Such an incredible honor! To win this award again is truly humbling and I can’t say thank you enough to everyone that supports us and all who VOTED! I saw everyone’s posts on social media but didn’t want to jinx anything. Thank you from the bottom of my family and I’d hearts! https://t.co/Z1t7HvtNRW

— Justin Allgaier (@J_Allgaier) November 19, 2020

The award for Allgaier continues a nine-year run for JR Motorsports drivers. Other former JRM drivers to earn the honor during that time include Sadler (2016-18) Chase Elliott (2014-15), Regan Smith (2013) and Danica Patrick (2012).

OTHER AWARDS: Chase Elliott, Cup Series | Zane Smith, Gander Trucks

Voting ran from Sept. 6-Nov. 9. Awards were based 100% on fan balloting.

Posted on November 18, 2020November 18, 2020 by Staff Report

NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott has added more hardware to his 2020 collection, garnering the circuit’s Most Popular Driver Award from the National Motorsports Press Association for the third consecutive year.

Elliott was announced as the award’s winner during Wednesday’s 2020 NASCAR Awards Show, a year-end celebration produced after COVID-19 restrictions forced the cancelation of Champion’s Week festivities in Nashville. Elliott was also feted as the winner of his first Cup Series championship in the 90-minute special.

Elliott topped the balloting, which was based completely on voting by fans and was open from Sept. 6 to Nov. 9. It marked his fifth Most Popular Driver honor, adding to the two awards he claimed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2014-15.

Elliott’s recognition added to a long family history with the award. NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott, his father, won Most Popular Driver a record 16 times nonconsecutively during a span that began in 1984 and ended in 2002. That’s one more than Dale Earnhardt Jr., who claimed the award for 15 straight years until his retirement from full-time driving in 2017.

Y’all are the best fans in #NASCAR!!Thank you! #MPD #di9 pic.twitter.com/7Q6rO9Xbl0

— Chase Elliott (@chaseelliott) November 19, 2020

Elliott scored a career-best five victories this year, which marked his fifth full season in NASCAR’s top division. His last two wins came on consecutive weekends in clutch situations, prevailing at Martinsville Speedway at the end of the postseason’s Round of 8, then making good on his title-round berth with a championship-clinching triumph in the Phoenix Raceway finale on Nov. 8.

OTHER AWARDS: Justin Allgaier, Xfinity Series | Zane Smith, Gander Trucks

The NMPA Most Popular Driver Award was presented to a Hendrick Motorsports driver for the 13th straight year, with Elliott’s three coming on the heels of Earnhardt’s 10 with the same organization.

Posted on November 18, 2020November 18, 2020 by Staff Report

NASCAR’s Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year, Zane Smith, not only won over the sport but also the fans in his first full-time effort at the national level.

During Wednesday’s 2020 NASCAR Awards show, Smith was presented with the Most Popular Driver trophy for his series. The ballot was determined completely by fan voting, which was open from Sept. 6 to Nov. 9.

Ross Chastain, who worked full time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series this season and will move up to the NASCAR Cup Series in 2021, took home the award in the Gander Truck Series last year.

Smith, a 21-year-old from Huntington Beach, California, steered the No. 21 GMS Racing Chevrolet to two race wins in his first full-time NASCAR ride. His breakthrough victory came Aug. 7, 2020 at Michigan International Speedway, beating Kyle Busch Motorsports’ Christian Eckes to the finish line by .318 seconds. Smith then won again two races later at Dover International Speedway. He made it all the way to the Championship 4 in the playoffs, where he placed second in the season finale at Phoenix Raceway to finish runner-up in the final driver standings.

Sheldon Creed ultimately won Phoenix to claim the 2020 championship title. Brett Moffitt and Grant Enfinger were the other Championship 4 contenders and came in third and fourth in the standings, respectively.

Through the 23 races, Smith had seven top-five and 13 top-10 showings. He averaged a 10.5 finish and led 376 laps overall. Despite his rookie status, Smith only crashed out of two events — one of which was at Talladega Superspeedway, which is known for its wildcard tendencies.

Smith only had one other Gander Truck Series start before 2020, and it was in 2018 at the World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, where he finished fifth. In 2019, Smith made 10 Xfinity Series starts — highlighted by two top fives, seven top 10s.

Next season, Smith will return to the Gander Truck Series with GMS Racing, the organization announced Oct. 12.

Posted on November 18, 2020November 18, 2020 by Staff Report

Jimmie Johnson closes out his full-time NASCAR career with one of the sport’s highest recognitions.

The seven-time Cup Series champion earned the Bill France Award of Excellence, which recognizes those who have made a massive impact on NASCAR during their time in the industry. The award is not given out annually, further emphasizing its importance. Johnson joins the likes of Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Joe Gibbs, Richard Childress and Roger Penske, who have also received this honor.

NASCAR vice president of racing development Ben Kennedy presented the rare hardware to Johnson on NBCSN during Wednesday’s 2020 NASCAR Awards show, a year-end celebration produced after COVID-19 restrictions forced the cancelation of Champion’s Week festivities in Nashville, Tennessee.

“What an honor this is,” Johnson said. “I am so grateful and thankful for your contributions and what your future holds for you in our sport. So thankful for the contributions of your family and the vision that your family had to create this premier form of racing in the country, and to play a part of that and to have had the success I’ve had in this sport is so meaningful to me.

“I am truly surprised and honored to receive this award. I wasn’t expecting it walking in here. I know the importance of it, and I’m really, really honored. So thank you.”

In his 19 full-time seasons driving the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, Johnson has won 83 races – tied for sixth best all time with NASCAR Hall of Famer Cale Yarborough. Johnson’s seven titles also matches the series-best marks of NASCAR Hall of Famers Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt. The five in a row from Johnson, however, is a solo record. That historic span came from 2006-10.

Posted on November 18, 2020 by Staff Report

Each year, NASCAR honors an industry partner that best exemplifies the spirit of the sport through its effort to engage millions of fans, consumers and employees. The Marketing Achievement Award has long been the gold standard for brands invested in the sport and sought after by some of the most recognizable brands in the world.

During a year underscored by significant change, the honor will be bestowed to a group of four brands for the first time in history. NASCAR’s Premier Partners: Busch Beer, Coca-Cola, GEICO and Xfinity are the 2020 NASCAR Marketing Achievement Award winners.

The start of the 2020 NASCAR season was highlighted by a historic shift in its sponsorship structure, one that fundamentally changed how the NASCAR Cup Series was presented to millions of fans each weekend. The sport transitioned from the traditional singular series title sponsorship, a model that had been in place for nearly 70 years, to one that highlighted four blue chip brands as Premier Partners.

NASCAR’s Premier Partners are long tenured in NASCAR and have been involved across various areas of the business for decades. There was not a partner or stakeholder in NASCAR, however, that could have been prepared for the events of 2020.

“We knew heading into this season that transitioning to this new model would come with some key learnings, and that was before a global pandemic hit and completely shifted how we conduct our respective businesses,” said Jill Gregory, EVP and Chief Marketing and Content Officer, NASCAR.

In May, NASCAR became the first major professional sport to return to competition and with all eyes on the sport, NASCAR’s Premier Partners stood strongly by its side. The partners demonstrated leadership and innovation across each platform it supported, including important initiatives like esports, the introduction of new technologies, sharing of best practices on diversity, equity and inclusion, elevating the profiles of NASCAR’s drivers and developing unique content and broadcast integrations.

“In working with global leading brands, NASCAR had the benefit of sharing best practices and collaborating on initiatives that are helping us affect change and shape the future of our sport,” said Gregory. “Their commitment to NASCAR has been unwavering and for that reason our Premier Partners are deserving of the 2020 Marketing Achievement Award.”

NASCAR’s Premier Partners continued to set an example with unique activation:

Busch Beer

NASCAR’s partnership with Busch served as a great example of how unique and engaging content can transcend challenging times.

Starting with the historic Busch Clash, Busch engaged fans throughout the season with unique brand campaigns, such as For The Farmers, a campaign that supported Midwest farmers impacted by tornadoes in 2019; to Your Face Here, giving fans the chance to “be back at track” by having their name on a car when NASCAR returned to racing at Darlington Raceway.

And as fans sought out ways to celebrate the NASCAR Championship, the Busch and NASCAR teams put together a Ultimate Fan Championship Tailgate promotion where fans entered to win a chance to have a championship race track experience at home.

Coca-Cola

2020 did not slow down the Coca-Cola team.

The partner leveraged its new Premier Partner status to elevate their marketing commitment to NASCAR year-round. This year was highlighted by two entitlement races (Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway), a presenting partnership of the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series, support of military and frontline workers through NASCAR Salutes Refreshed by Coca-Cola and as the presenting partner of the NASCAR Cup Series Regular Season Trophy.

Additionally, Coca-Cola voiced its commitment to change and showed strong leadership and support of NASCAR’s efforts to diversify the sport.

GEICO

GEICO celebrated the start of the racing season by introducing its “NASCAR Returns” platform to millions of fans.

When the season was paused due to COVID-19, GEICO sponsored the virtual Talladega Pro Invitational Race – one of the highest viewed esports events in history. When NASCAR returned to the track at Darlington, GEICO sponsored the 100,000 Cameras show that told the story of NASCAR’s return to racing through the eyes of drivers, crews, and most importantly fans.

Additionally, GEICO enhanced their on-track and in-broadcast presence of the Restart Zone series by creating a weekly custom content series anchored by Jeff Burton airing across NASCAR’s social channels. And when NASCAR began to gradually welcome back fans, GEICO’s brand was front and center through its sponsorship of NASCAR track campgrounds.

Xfinity

Xfinity strengthened its role as an industry leader, working to grow the sport on a national and regional level by leveraging its portfolio of Comcast NBCUniversal assets. Xfinity had big plans going into 2020, its first year as a Premier Partner after building fan awareness as the entitlement partner of the NASCAR Xfinity Series since 2015.

Prior to the sport returning at Darlington, Xfinity unveiled a new 30-second commercial, titled “Return of Loud.” Additionally, Xfinity purchased signage at the track to thank frontline workers battling COVID-19 and became the entitlement sponsor of the NASCAR Cup Series playoff cut-off race at Martinsville Speedway, the Xfinity 500. Once again, Xfinity brought to light the incredible philanthropic work being done across the industry through its Comcast Community Champion Award naming NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace as its 2020 award recipient.

Posted on November 17, 2020November 17, 2020 by Staff Report

Two-time NASCAR Cup Series championship-winning crew chief Adam Stevens will not return to the No. 18 team as Kyle Busch’s crew chief in 2021, Joe Gibbs Racing announced on Tuesday afternoon as it unveiled its crew chief lineups for the upcoming season.

Ben Beshore will serve as Busch’s new crew chief, while Stevens shifts over to the No. 20 team and driver Christopher Bell in his first Cup Series season at JGR. Chris Gayle had been the crew chief of the No. 20 team with driver Erik Jones for the past three seasons.

The pairings of Denny Hamlin-Chris Gabehart (No. 11 team) and Martin Truex Jr.-James Small (No. 19) remain intact for the 2021 season. Hamlin and Gabehart have combined for 13 wins, two Daytona 500 wins and two Championship 4 appearances in two seasons, while Truex and Small scored a win at Martinsville in June in their first season together.

“We go through a process at the conclusion of every season that includes evaluating each of our teams,” said Joe Gibbs, in a team release. “We believe our crew chief lineup for 2021 will best position each team and driver for success across both series.

The 2020 season saw Busch go winless until the third-to-last race of the season at Texas — after he had been eliminated from the playoffs. The season marked the first time Busch and Stevens failed to reach the Championship 4 together after reaching that round the previous five seasons.

Together, the Busch-Stevens duo won 28 Cup races over the past six seasons and championships in 2015 and 2019. The pairing was first together in the NASCAR Xfinity Series from 2013-14 where the duo won 19 times. All told, Stevens has 31 Xfinity Series wins as a crew chief from 2011 to 2014.

Stevens’ shift to Bell will mark the first time the 25-year-old is not paired with Jason Ratcliff since 2017.

Beshore previously served as engineer on the No. 18 team before becoming a Xfinity Series crew chief in 2019. He filled in atop the pit box for Stevens for three races in 2017 and Busch nabbed one top five and three top 10s in those starts. He also teamed up with Busch for four wins in the Xfinity Series in 2019 before guiding Xfinity Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year Harrison Burton to a four-win campaign in 2020.

JGR also rounded out its crew-chief roster in the Xfinity Series, where it fields three full-time teams. Ratcliff rejoins the organization as crew chief of the No. 20 Toyota for Harrison Burton, the 2020 Sunoco Rookie of the Year. Ratcliff spent last season on the Cup Series side with Leavine Family Racing, teamed with Bell. He has 54 wins and one championship atop the pit box in the Xfinity Series.

Veteran Dave Rogers will return to the No. 18 Toyota team, but will be paired with Daniel Hemric, who was announced last week as a replacement for Riley Herbst. Jeff Meendering will continue to be partnered with Brandon Jones on JGR’s No. 19 team.

JGR also stated that it intends to field a fourth Xfinity Series entry — No. 54 — with a rotating cast of “all-star caliber drivers” on a part-time basis. Gayle shifts into that team’s crew chief role for 2021. The organization indicated that drivers and scheduled races for the No. 54 team will be announced later.

“We take a lot of pride in our depth of talent across our entire organization,” Gibbs said. “All of our crew chiefs are proven winners. We are also looking forward to bringing the No. 54 Toyota Supra back to the track in 2021 with an exciting team of drivers.”

Posted on November 17, 2020 by Staff Report

After NASCAR’s return and a jammed-packed schedule that saw the sanctioning body catch up to its original timeline, the sport descended on Daytona, Florida, for the final race of the regular season.

The Coke Zero Sugar 400 marked the first time back at Daytona International Speedway for Ryan Newman since his involvement in a serious accident that left him hospitalized for several days after the 2020 Daytona 500 in February. Newman gave thanks to those who worked fast to get him removed from his No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford and paid a visit to Halifax Medical Center to chat with staff.

The race also marked the last chance for Jimmie Johnson, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and others to make the playoffs. Johnson, wrapping up his final full-time season, was in the midst of a tight playoff battle among himself, William Byron and Matt DiBenedetto for the final spots barring a surprise winner — which the 2.5-mile superspeedway has been known to produce.

In “Now or Never,” the third episode of MotorTrend docuseries “NASCAR 2020: Under Pressure,” see the drama of the fight to make the playoffs unfold through the eyes of drivers like Johnson and Stenhouse as Daytona hosts the regular-season finale for its first time.

Come back every Saturday, from Nov. 7 to Dec. 12, to see an all-new episode of “NASCAR 2020: Under Pressure,” an inside look at the unforgettable 2020 NASCAR season.

Plus, with your free trial to the MotorTrend app, you will also get access to more than 3,600 hours of automotive entertainment, including shows from MotorTrend, Discovery Channel, live events and more. Start watching “Under Pressure” today.

Posted on November 17, 2020November 17, 2020 by Steve Luvender

In a fully-stocked NASCAR Cup Series field, there are 40 possible finishing positions. The goal, of course, is to finish first — but all is not lost for drivers who come up short.

We track an admittedly unimportant metric called the All 40 Challenge — that is, the progress each driver has made over the course of their careers toward finishing in every single possible position, first through 40th, at least once. Once you’ve notched a finish in each slow, you’ve completed the All 40 Challenge.

Heading into the 2021 season, only these 11 full-time drivers have completed the elusive All 40 Challenge:

Aric Almirola
Ryan Blaney
Alex Bowman
Kurt Busch
Kyle Busch
Denny Hamlin
Kevin Harvick
Joey Logano
Ryan Newman
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Martin Truex Jr.

Retirees Clint Bowyer, Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth are also among those who’ve completed the Challenge. Maybe they’re hanging up the steering wheel because of such an accomplishment. (Probably not.)

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: Jimmie Johnson | Clint Bowyer | Matt Kenseth

In 2020, no driver added their name to the exclusive list — though Austin Dillon and Matt DiBenedetto inched closer to completion. Dillon’s second-place finish in the Darlington Southern 500 was his first-ever runner-up in his seventh full-time season, while DiBenedetto picked up his first 10th-place finish at Martinsville — his 211th career start.

To complete the All 40 Challenge, Dillon only needs to score a last-place finish; for DiBenedetto, he only needs to win. (No pressure!) They’re the only two drivers who are one finish away from completing the sweep — but they’re ahead of Cup Series champions Chase Elliott and Brad Keselowski, both of whom only need to finish 28th and 40th, coincidentally.

Could a new ride make the difference for some drivers?

Erik Jones is only a 32nd-place and 37th-place finish away from completing the Challenge — he’ll move to Richard Petty Motorsports in 2021. Upstart Trackhouse Racing Team’s Daniel Suarez needs a win and a 39th. (He’d probably prefer to score the former more than the latter.) And when Kyle Larson returns to the driver’s seat at Hendrick Motorsports in 2021, he’ll need just 22nd and 32nd to add his name to the list.

With some luck, Chris Buescher isn’t far from completing the All 40 Challenge himself — he’ll need a second, fourth, and seventh to wrap it up.

So, even though nobody got the job done in 2020, we’ll just chalk it up to one of those classic 2020 oddities.

Who will complete the Challenge next is anybody’s guess, but we’re feeling pretty confident somebody gets it done in 2021. Check back throughout the racing season — we’ll update our #All40Challenge tracker after each race.

Posted on November 16, 2020November 16, 2020 by Chase Wilhelm

CONCORD, N.C. — Kurt Busch and Martin Truex Jr. got their first taste of NASCAR’s Next Gen car slated for the 2022 Cup Series season on Monday.

The pair participated in the first of a two-day test session at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval. Busch and Truex opened the week testing separate cars on the 2.32-mile oval/road course layout. Taking a day in between to transition track configurations, Wednesday’s session will be held on the 1.5-mile D-shaped track.

PHOTOS: Scenes from the Next Gen test

Busch is piloting the “Prototype 3” car prepared by Richard Childress Racing in conjunction with NASCAR in both sessions. The third prototype, or “P3” as it’s referred to internally, features an ECR engine and was previously tested by NASCAR at Auto Club Speedway and Dover International Speedway.

“It’s been a fun, exciting, interesting day,” Busch said during a break in Monday’s session. “Feels like the first day of school because of how different the car is. With the sequential gearbox, that’s the most fun. I love shifting through the gears.”

Monday’s session served as the first time multiple Next Gen cars have been on the track at the same time, while NASCAR’s third prototype was featured on a road course for the first time. The intention of Monday’s test was to experiment with different tire combinations for Goodyear in an effort to locate the right code for 2022. According to Busch, tire sets for Watkins Glen International, Mid-Ohio Sport Car Course and Sonoma Raceway were of particular focus, along with other road-course specific components.

Kurt Busch debriefs with those on hand for the Next Gen test at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images

“It accelerates quick, it stops quicker, it turns quicker, it’s nimble,” Busch said. “All the lap time that’s been gained is through the infield section with this independent rear suspension and the ability to shift quicker. Really, the car is more effective and the car is more sensitive to changes and to feel … you feel everything more vividly.”

Truex is testing the prototype built by Action Express, an IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship team, with a Ford Performance engine. The car was last on track at Daytona International Speedway’s road course in August.

Truex said he was “pleasantly surprised” with the reaction of the car on Charlotte’s Roval, noting the Next Gen car is suited for road courses and it’ll be a bigger challenge on the oval track Wednesday.

The most substantial changes Truex noticed include bigger tires, sequential shifting with more gears in the transmission and bigger brakes.

“It does everything a little bit better,” Truex said. “A little bit easier to drive in general around the road course. It turns really well. We’re having a few issues with the steering on the big track. If the car bottoms out, it really goes haywire, but otherwise, it’s all been good, and it’s been solid and fun to drive so far.”

Martin Truex Jr. climbs into the Next Gen prototype at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images

Another talking point in Monday’s test was the sound of the engine at speed, which provides a deeper tone than the current car. Truex explained that’s due to a more old-school approach with the exhaust system, with tailpipes coming out of each side of the car.

“It sounds cool I think,” Truex said. “I don’t know what it sounds like from up in the grandstands. In the pits, I feel like it sounds pretty good. I think it sounds pretty cool and badass when you’re driving it. It’s throaty, deep sounding.”

Busch had the same opinion regarding the power unit’s new roar.

“The sound was really cool,” Busch said. “I don’t get to hear cars a lot because I’m in the car racing, but to hear Truex go around and to hear the split exhaust – one pipes out the left, one pipes out the right – that’s an old-school, Trans-Am thundering power.”

On Wednesday, the cars will run closer together in order to study how the cars will react in true racing conditions.

For Truex, that’ll be the true test.

“I think Wednesday is going to be the real test to see what I think and to see how it feels on a fast oval,” Truex said. “I think that’s going to be a real eye-opener.”