UPDATE: Upon further examination, we have determined that Thursday’s Next Gen test did not take place at Wythe Raceway, as NASCAR had initially announced that it would. Based on the following Tweet from Stewart Friesen, the test is believed to have taken place at Lancaster Motor Speedway.
Pretty cool day today. Got to test the next gen car at Lancaster SC while some of the best guys in the industry took notes. Thanks to the guys and gals @RCRracing and @NASCAR. Damn awesome to spend some time close to that number 3. pic.twitter.com/Xx7j6GxJdi
— Stewart Friesen (@StewartFriesen) December 9, 2021
As the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season approaches, we’ve seen the brand-new Next Gen car on the short tracks, the intermediates, the superspeedways, the road courses, hell we’ve even seen the car at Bowman Gray Stadium.
However, before Thursday’s valuable test session, nobody had even seen the Next Gen car and how it would perform on a dirt track.
Stewart Friesen – a full-time driver in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and an avid dirt racer — held the honors of being the first to drive the new car on the dirt, as shown in a video posted to NASCAR’s social media channels on Thursday Evening.
Kicking dirt up ?#NextGen pic.twitter.com/0a82pzab5v
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) December 9, 2021
Of course, with the series running its second event on a dirt-covered Bristol Motor Speedway this Easter Weekend, it’s important for the sanctioning body to make sure that things are up to par, and that there are no unforeseen problems when teams arrive at the track.
