Dale Earnhardt Jr. Tells the Truth About NASCAR’s Coveted Next-Gen Cars

Going into the 2022 season, NASCAR switched from the Generation 6 cars to the Next-Gen cars. Fit with a 5.68L V8 engine, the Next-Gen was first run at Daytona that season. According to former NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., the Next-Gen cars in NASCAR are based on the V8 Supercars. He is of the belief that this will help drivers who are looking to make the switch from the Supercars Championships to NASCAR. Earnhardt Jr. himself has not driven one of the Next-Gens as a full-time Cup Series driver. He last drove the Generation 6 cars, which he also believed had similarities to the V8 Supercars that run at the Supercars Championship.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. was speaking on an episode of the Dale Jr. Download podcast. In conversation with co-host Mike Davis, he was exploring the possibility of Shane Van Gisbergen making the switch to NASCAR from Supercars and how he would adjust to the changes. According to Junior, SVG would not have that difficult a time adjusting to the car. He also said that it would be easier for SVG than it was for Marcos Ambrose to adjust to the oval tracks. Ambrose moved to the United States in 2006 to pursue a career in NASCAR after winning the Australian V8 Supercar series’ championship.

NASCAR Next-Gen Based on V8 Supercars, Says Dale Earnhardt Jr.

“The V8 Supercar was the closest thing to NASCAR stock cars around the globe and that got even closer when the next-gen car was built. NASCAR and Steve O’Donnell will tell you they built the NASCAR next-gen based off of the V8 Supercar. So for Shane or anyone to get in that car and feel comfortable makes perfect sense and I think his adaptation to ovals will be even easier due to that than it was for Marcos,” said Earnhardt Jr.

SVG is one of the most talked-about drivers in the world at the moment, and it is becoming all the more certain that he will make the jump to NASCAR. The 34-year-old will have another shot at winning a NASCAR race in a week’s time when he lines up on the grid with Project 91 at Indianapolis.

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Pressure on SVG to Fight for the Win at Indianapolis

While Earnhardt Jr. has been impressed by SVG, the former NASCAR driver said that the Kiwi will have a lot of pressure going into Indianapolis. Junior believes that SVG needs to lead laps and challenges for the win at Indianapolis. Running in a position like fifth simply won’t be good enough if he wants to have a full-time seat in American stock car racing. He also believes that while SVG might be a tough customer on road courses, the Ovals will need a bit of getting used to.

“He needs to go to Indy, lead laps, and challenge for the win. If he runs fifth, that ain’t good enough to warrant all the effort that will have to take place to get him over here in that full-time deal. He will… have challenges. I don’t want to use the word struggle. But he’s going to be challenged at the ovals for a while. It just, I doubt it comes naturally,” he said.

“So the ownership and team will manage some of that struggle. And that patience of waiting for the oval stuff to take. And if he’s going to go to all of the other road courses that we all know well and just be top five, is that enough?” Earnhardt Jr. opined.

As the season goes on, it is looking all the more obvious that Shane Van Gisbergen will race full-time in NASCAR in 2024. Was his debut a fluke or does he actually have what it takes to be one of the most skilled drivers in the sport? Only time will tell.

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