‘Next Gen’ car modernizes NASCAR, potentially levels field

By MARK LONG
AP Sports Writer

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — NASCAR was long overdue to revamp its aging, arguably outdated race car. The previous version was an overly engineered, off-the-chart expensive design that had been tweaked, twisted, trimmed and tuned to make it fractionally faster and significantly safer over the past five-plus decades. Driver David Ragan says “it was the most supped-up 1970s Mustang that you could imagine.” It’s now a museum piece. NASCAR’s newest version is its most notable overhaul and should result in a vehicle that’s more durable, more economical and considerably more modern — even if the changes are barely visible to the casual fan.