42 PRODUCT PROFILE
NASCAR simulation
2022 will see huge changes in NASCAR, with the launch of the Next Generation racecar.
Simulation specialist, Claytex, has responded quickly to create and test models that will
enable teams to be competitive
VehicleDynamicsInternational.com •May/June 2020
ABOVE: NASCAR
Next Gen multibody
vehicle model
running. Gaining an understanding of
the new cars’ characteristics and foibles
before taking delivery of their first
vehicles will vastly shorten a team’s time
spent getting to grips with unknowns,
with precious track testing time devoted
to finding speed rather than curing ill
handling.
Whilst the ‘stock’ in stock car racing is
still somewhat of a misnomer, motorsport
can still improve road cars. Reacting to
changes and developing new simulation
tools around a new vehicle design is a
challenge that is common between the
racing world and the automotive world.
Automotive manufacturers’ internal
simulation specialists will be faced
with similar challenges in preparing
the required tools for their internal
customers in other departments. This
is especially true when a new vehicle
architecture comes around rapidly, as the
ongoing electrification of road vehicles
forces manufacturers to question existing
design philosophies.
››In 2022, NASCAR tradition will
be broken. Gone will be the
hallmark live ‘truck arm’ rear
axle with Panhard rod, derived from a
pickup truck. Gone will be the dual front
A-arms with split spring and damper
actuation, originally inspired by a 1966
Chevelle. Five-stud 15in steel wheels?
Gone too. Also out is the pitman-arm
steering system, the H-pattern gearbox
and the Detroit Locker differential. With
the arrival of front/rear independent
double-wishbone suspensions, rack-andpinion
steering, sequential gearboxes,
centre-lock 18in alloy wheels and limited
slip differentials, teams are being thrown
a major curveball.
Despite facing a paradigm shift in
terms of technology with the seemingly
infinite ways of configuring the new
vehicles, teams inevitably still try to seek
an advantage over their competition.
Simulation of the relative unknown
presents an opportunity to steal a march
over the competition and hit the ground
By late 2019, the first prototypes of
NASCAR’s Next Generation vehicle had
hit the tracks around the USA. As a
leading simulation vendor to NASCAR,
Claytex had to adapt its products to the
customers’ new reality in a short space
of time in order to meet existing release
deadlines. Mid-December 2019 saw the
first drop of vehicle specifications and
validation data from NASCAR. Many of
the components NASCAR is introducing
were already available in Claytex’s
libraries, from other applications.
Simulation models
It was clear from the outset that the
suspension style that NASCAR had
decided upon was novel, and bespoke
simulation models would have to be
created: specifically, the front anti-roll
bar mounts onto the upper control arm,
and similarly the rear toe-link inboard
mount connects to the upper control
arm. Dealing with the front suspension
was straightforward for Claytex, as the
/VehicleDynamicsInternational.com