Kurt Busch highlighted that the venting and the cooler situation in the Next Gen car need improvement.
Busch is one of the drivers who have tested the Next Gen car before its scheduled introduction in 2022, after getting delayed from its previous date in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last year, he tested the car at Charlotte on both the oval and ‘roval’ layouts. Previously, the 2004 champion had praised the car for responsiveness in acceleration and direction change on the road course.
However, there were problems that he wanted to make aware of the model. Speaking about which, he said:
“The next biggest bullet point that I marked down was the exhaust heat. It’s now a split exhaust system, so it comes out of the left, and the right, which means the exhaust goes right underneath the driver on the left side. We need better insulation, more venting and a cooler situation [in the car].
“I have only driven the car in November and in January, and I would say it was already on the hot side of what it felt like after a 25-lap run. I am sure we can get that fixed and have more venting and airflow within the car.”
Busch also took time to highlight the good qualities that the car has and how one more year of development will only make it better.
“There are so other many good qualities in the car, with the brakes, the sequential gearbox, suspension, and all kinds of different aero components that I know they can bolt on or take off to make the car adapt to all the different style tracks,” he added. “[Definitely] lots of positives all the way around, and another full year of development will make a great introductory piece for 2022.”
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