NASCAR has announced its next generation of car will be delayed to the 2022 season due to the uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus pandemic.
The Gen-7 NASCAR machines were intended to lower the cost of competing for entrants, and testing of the machine began in the latter part of last year.
It is hoped that the introduction of the Gen-7 cars would expand NASCAR’s manufacturer entrants to four for the first time since 2012, with the specification of the machine influenced by conversations with potential new manufacturers.
However, the new car won’t make its competitive debut until ’22 now, with NASCAR confirming the move in a statement on Thursday from Senior Vice President of Racing Innovation John Probst.
“Due to challenges related to the coronavirus pandemic, the debut of the Next Gen car will be delayed until 2022,” the statement read.
“The decision was made in collaboration with the OEMs and team owners.
“We will continue to develop the Next Gen car, and a revised testing timeline will be shared when more information is available.”
The coronavirus pandemic, which has infected over a million people worldwide and killed more than 50,000 has played havoc with the sporting world this year.
Due to increased social distancing measures, NASCAR’s current campaign is currently on hold through to May – though hopes of resuming action at Martinsville took a knock earlier this week when the state of Virginia implemented a stay-at-home order for all residents.
NASCAR had hoped to run recent races at Homstead and Atlanta behind closed doors, though this idea was ultimately scrapped.
NASCAR isn’t the only series to delay car regulation shake-ups by a year, after Formula 1 announced recently that’s radical new machines set for ’21 would now be introduced in ’22 to ease the financial pressure the current coronavirus crisis has created.
F1’s current machinery will carry over to next year, with a number parts frozen, while development of the ’22 cars has been banned for this year to keep costs under control.
However, Red Bull boss Christian Horner said on Tuesday that a further delay with the new cars could be forthcoming.