NASCAR weekly: Change to the central lugnut, Bowman wins in Fontana
In the past few days, NASCAR has made an important decision for the 2021 Cup Series season: The “Next Gen” car will be equipped with a central lugnut
NASCAR Cup Series
William Byron has completed a two-day test at Fontana with the “Next Gen” car for the 2021 Cup season. This version is said to have been very close to the final specification of the new car. NASCAR made an elementary decision: the five lugnuts are history, because from 2021 on a central lugnut will be used.
The reason for this are the new 18-inch aluminium rims. According to NASCAR, the most safest solution for fixing the wheel, in this case the central lugnut, had to be used to ensure the safety of the drivers. However, nothing should change during the pit stops: the teams still have to jump over the wall, work off both sides with the jack and refuel with the fuel can.
While the 2021 season is casting its shadow, Alex Bowman has won a thrilliung race at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. The Hendrick driver beat the competition in an exciting race and secured his second career win. Toyota, Ford and Chevrolet shared the victories in the first three races equally among themselves.
NASCAR Xfinity Series
In the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Harrison Burton took his first national series victory. In Fontana, the 19-year-old son of NASCAR veteran Jeff Burton put in a strong performance that culminated in a first place finish.
It was only his twelfth start in the second NASCAR league, and as he is one of the series’ regular drivers, he is also the first driver to secure a place in the 2020 playoffs. Riley Herbst finished second ahead of Austin Cindric, Ryan Sieg and Justin Haley.
NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Series
Last week, Kevin Harvick and the Gander RV & Outdoors CEO had put a bounty of 100,000 US dollars on Kyle Busch.
Now Chris Larsen from Halmar International has also offered a prize money. The crucial difference: While Harvick would also reward drivers from the Cup or Xfinity series if they beat the Gibbs driver in the third NASCAR league, the $50,000 from Larsen is only for truck drivers who beat Busch in Atlanta.
In addition, Busch is not the only target for Larsen. There is a bounty on every Cup driver, but only if the two-time Cup champion is also at the start and still drives at the end. “We love Kyle. He is a true fighter! But we have so many talented teams in the NASCAR Truck Series. We know first hand how hard they work,” Larsen explains in a statement on Facebook. “We want to reward the drivers and teams that are the foundation of the series.”
