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The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season is all set to kick off in February with the exhibition-style Busch Light Clash at the LA Memorial Coliseum. Coming off last year, which saw major changes get introduced to the sport in the form of the Next Gen car, the 2023 season is going to be seen as the year where the technical aspect of the sport as well as rule-enforcement will hopefully be refined.
One of the most recent changes to have come from the governing body ahead of the race on the west coast of the United States of America came in the form of driver clothing. While drivers in the 2022 season were recommended to wear garments such as underwear and head socks under their race suits and helmets, these recommendations have been made mandatory this year.
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The minor rule change also involves mandatory socks to be worn by drivers during appearances on the track, which adds another level of safety under their fireproof overalls and shoes. This has not been the only rule change since the end of last season, with NASCAR having updated the mandatory chassis shim thickness. The update requires the teams to modify the part in such a way that it reduces thickness by up to 50%.
There have also been reports of the removal of bars from the Next Gen car itself in a bid to create more crumple zones for better driver safety. The integrity of the person behind the wheel was a hotly debated topic last year, with the new seventh-generation car found somewhat lacking in that department.
NASCAR's reasoning behind changing chassis shim thickness in new rule change
The updated rules regarding Next Gen NASCAR that came in the form of reduced chassis shim thickness from 0.160" to 0.100" in December 2022 are due to the governing body trying to make each car even more similar than they have been in the past year. NASCAR mandated the rule change after the seventh-generation car's debut year.
Stewart-Haas Racing's shop foreman Brian Murphy also explained the reasoning behind the change and said:
“Clip shims allow the teams to locate front/rear clips during installation. Correct location has a multitude of affects on overall performance. There’s a number of reasons including .160” just simply being an enormous amount.”
NASCAR is all set to go live from the LA Memorial Coliseum on February 5th, 2022, with the exhibition-style Busch Light Clash.
