Nascar will move to center nut on 18" wheels in 2021

She has been surveying different circuits for several weeks, and her technical sheet is gradually being revealed. The Next Gen car which will be used in Nascar Cup Series from 2021 will include a major new feature on its running gear with the arrival 18″ wheels fitted with a central nut.

Enough to modify the approach to pit stops in the discipline, the mechanics responsible for changing tires during events having until then to manage five nuts. A new feature that appeared during the very last runs started yesterday at the Auto Club Speedway (California).

“For our part on this point, we wanted to arrive at an 18-inch wheel, an aluminum wheel,” indicates John Probst, vice president of innovation and racing development at Nascar.

Once you validate this choice, the next step for us is to ensure that from a reliability point of view in racing conditions, it will be acceptable to complete races, and even multiple races. To do this, the single nut was our only option. »

The German equipment manufacturer BBS was selected for the new 18″ rim during recent tests. A technical change which, according to American officials, should not modify the current pattern of pit stops, nor the number of people authorized to work on the cars.