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Martin Truex Jr and Kurt Busch Reveal Focus for Wednesday’s Session of Testing for the NASCAR ‘Next Gen’ Car

Published 11/17/2020, 7:45 AM EST

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The NASCAR Next Gen car’s testing phase returns as former NASCAR Cup Series champions Kurt Busch and Martin Truex Jr. ran tests on Monday. Busch and Truex Jr. ran tests one after the other at different times on the Charlotte Motor Speedway’s road course. Next, they will run together on Wednesday.

Wednesday’s test will be conducted on the oval surface at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. The two top drivers ran their respective tests on Monday and made their individual assessments of how the car performed. It is safe to say that both of them were impressed with the new model.

The two drivers took a day’s break due to the transition in track configurations, moving from the Roval to the 1.5-mile oval track. On Wednesday, Truex Jr and Busch will run closer to see how the Next Gen car answers to actual racing conditions. It will be interesting to see how the car responds when in traffic.

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What Martin Truex Jr. hopes to see in Wednesday’s NASCAR Next Gen Test

Truex Jr. is looking forward to how the Next Gen car runs on the oval. The drivers found the car faster and smoother than the current car. However, Truex Jr. said Monday’s test was on a slow surface. He feels that the car’s performance on the much faster oval will be a key indicator.

“This is a slow road course. To see how it feels on the fast oval Wednesday will be a real eye-opener,” the Joe Gibbs Racing driver said. He also said that the car is built in a very different way than the current car. He feels the learning curve will be steep for all drivers, as 2022 nears.

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It’s going to be a huge learning curve for everyone. But when the car is balanced well, it feels really, really similar to what we have now. That’s a good thing,” Truex Jr.

Kurt Busch to focus on the steering

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Busch, who drove a car developed by Richard Childress Racing and NASCAR, highlighted that the steering will be his focus for Wednesday’s test. He said it felt aggressive on Monday and wants to firm it up for Wednesday’s test.

“I like its movement. On the oval sections, it’s on edge. We need to perfect that, and that’ll be the Wednesday focus. It’s a bunch of cool stuff to learn,” the older Busch brother said.

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Busch also said that Wednesday’s session will give them a better idea of how much the air affects the car.

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The cars averaged 84 seconds on lap speed on Monday. This timing is faster than the quickest lap timings during the Cup Series race on the road course. Wednesday’s test, when both Truex Jr. and Busch run alongside each other, will provide further insight into the future of NASCAR racing.

“Solid and Fun” – Martin Truex Jr Gives his Verdict After First Test in the NASCAR Next Gen Car

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Written by:

Aayush Majumdar

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Aayush Majumdar is a NASCAR content strategist, a Tennis Writer, and a sports analyst at EssentiallySports. He is well-tenured as a tennis and NASCAR writer, with over 900 articles across both sports. After pursuing a Post Graduate program in Sports Management, Aayush explored various roles in Sports Media, including a Sports Reporting role at a leading English daily.
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