iRacing NASCAR Gen-7 “Next-Gen” Cup Cars Released

Surprise! After announcing just last night that today’s invitational NASCAR race using the iRacing service would use the “Next-Gen” Cup car, iRacing have now released it for public use as well (and added an official and unofficial series so you can race it right away).

The Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, Ford Mustang and Toyota TRD Camry NASCAR Gen-7 cars take over from the Gen-6 that ran between 2013-2021.

Designed to intensify the racing, contain costs and appeal to fans and the automotive market by giving each manufacturer more unique body panels (something the Gen-6 had tried to do), there’s no doubt it will likely do all those things. My concern is how…

In real-world competition I think both the Gen-6 and Gen-7 were a step in the wrong direction as far as downforce goes. The increased downforce has certainly tightened up the field, made them trip over each other, but it just doesn’t seem like any fun to drive. I really hope that’s not the case here either in the sim or real-life…

Here are some screenshots posted on official channels from tonight’s race:

iRacing’s text from their news item:

You’ve seen their real-world counterparts earlier today, and you’ve seen them in tonight’s eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series event from Darlington Raceway—now, drive the future of NASCAR yourself! The Next Gen NASCAR Cup Series Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, Ford Mustang, and Toyota Camry are available now to drive on iRacing in both public and hosted sessions.

iRacing would like to thank NASCAR for providing unprecedented access to develop the Next Gen cars to bring the cars to life in the sim, and the unique opportunity to be involved in multiple levels of the car launch, from early development work to tonight’s Pro Invitational action. iRacing has worked hand-in-hand with NASCAR over the Next Gen car’s entire two-year development cycle to bring these brand new machines to life and build them from the ground up in the sim before their real-world debut in the 2022 Daytona 500. iRacing was on hand during multiple test sessions to collect data, sound recordings, and additional information to ensure that the new car is both accurate to its real-world counterpart and fun to drive.

Featuring a number of technological innovations, from a new chassis design and independent rear suspension to a sequential transmission and single-lug wheel design, the Next Gen car is designed to continue pushing the sport forward. All three vehicles were unveiled earlier today in a special presentation streamed on NASCAR.com, where past NASCAR Cup Series champions Chase Elliott and Joey Logano and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin joined Chevrolet, Ford, and Toyota manufacturer representatives to show off the new cars.

The NASCAR Cup Series Next Gen cars will debut immediately on iRacing in two public series: an open setup series for A class license holders, and unranked fixed setup series for all iRacers. Fans of the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series can see the cars again on June 2 on the Chicago street circuit. New users who would like to give the Next Gen car a try can click here to sign up for a year of iRacing for $20.22 using the code PR-2022NEXTGEN.

iRacing’s Trailer: