It ’s well-off to block , in the eight decades ofNASCAR racingthat the name stand up for " National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing . " Even though " stock car " is in good order there in the name , if you ’ve watched any NASCAR subspecies , it ’s intemperate to believethosecars have thesame enginesas the cars we ride to and from school and work every day . But do they really ?
NASCAR has very strict rules and regularization for the car that race in its serial publication , admit spec for the engines . For the2022 season , NASCAR debuted the seventh generation of the car used in its top - level Cup Series , theNext Gen car . These race car are intend to bet more like the street car they represent : the Chevy Camaro ZL1 , the Ford Mustang and the Toyota TRD Camry . But under their hoods , these engine are much the same as they have been in late seasons .
Next Gen Car Under the Hood
All Cup cars utilise V-8 engines from each maker — Ford , Chevrolet and Toyota . The engine can be no larger than 358 three-dimensional in ( 5.9 litre ) , and they still expend old - fashionedpush rod rather than overhead cams .
Some tracks , includingDaytona and Talladega , ask restrictor home plate as a safety measure to keep railway car slower . Engines at these two tracks are bound to 550 HP . All other track have a pileus of670 horsepower .
One mechanical change for the Next Gen car is the placement of the exhaust . With the new physical structure , the exhaust will exitto either the left or right . That mean that fans in the stands will hear half of the exhaust , which means these powerful V-8 racer will fathom like they ’re track down on just four cylinder .
An even bigger change is the newfive - speed transmissionandtransaxlein the Next Gen cars . rather of the one-time four - speed H - pattern shifter , the drivers will have asequential five - speed shifterthey can wiretap forrard and back to interchange geartrain . The new transmissions and gearstick come in expectation of ahybrid powertraincoming to the Cup sometime in thenext few years , which would require a transaxle setup . The previous Cup cable car lasted from2013 to 2021 , so it arrive at sentiency to prepare for an locomotive engine swap in the near - ish futurity .
Next Gen vs. Your Car
That ’s all great , but how does that compare to the street engines in these cars ?
First up , the 2022 Chevy Camaro ZL1 . It has a 6.2 - liter V-8 and a six - speedmanual transmission , with an uncommitted boat paddle shifter . So it ’s already physically larger than its racing opposite number ’s 5.9 liter locomotive . It makes 650 HP , put it in the locality of its track version .
The 2022 Ford Mustang Shelby GT 500 comes with a 5.2 - liter V-8 and seven - speed dual - clutch transmission , so it ’s slightly smaller than its NASCAR vis-a-vis . But it ’s rate at 760 horsepower , putting it nearly 100 horses above that racetrack motorcar .
The2022 Toyota Camry TRDcomes with a 3.5 - l V-6 , which is importantly smaller than the racer , and an eight - speed transmission . And while301 horsepoweris a lot around townsfolk , it ’s not nigh as much as what ’s on the track .
