Chevrolet has introduced a new NASCAR Cup Series body for the 2020 racing season, which is inspired by the Camaro ZL1 1LE.
Chevrolet claims its engineers have optimized the aerodynamic performance of the NASCAR Cup Series Camaro body by “employing an array of tools, including computational fluid dynamics (CFD), simulation, and reduced-scale and full-scale wind-tunnel testing.” The front end of the car looks a little flatter than the pointy Camaro ZL1 body currently being raced in NASCAR’s top-tier, which could make bump drafting easier for Chevy drivers. The example car in the photo above also features some decals that are meant to mimic the front canards that come on the ZL1 1LE road car.
“The ZL1 1LE is the highest performer within the Camaro production-car lineup,” said Chevy’s vice president of Performance and Motorsports, Jim Campbell. “We took lessons from the production car and applied them to the new 2020 Cup car.”
NEWS: Chevrolet reveals Camaro ZL1 1LE entry for 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season.
Details: https://t.co/qNLsorfpkQ pic.twitter.com/ErqUCGLO1A
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) October 31, 2019
The Camaro is currently the most prominently featured car in Chevy’s various motorsports ventures, with the Camaro SS racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NHRA Funny Car, Pro Stock and Sportsman classes. The Camaro GT4 car can also be seen racing in the Michelin Pilot Challenge GS class and Pirelli World Challenge GTS division.
Apart from its name and some Chevy logos, this new NASCAR Cup Series Camaro ZL1 has almost nothing in common with the road-going Camaro ZL1 1LE. That said, the ZL1 1LE’s motorsports inspiration is clear, featuring a huge wing, front canards and a supercharged 6.2-liter LT4 Small Block V8 making 650 horsepower and 650 pound-feet of torque. The supercar-slaying Camaro comes standard with a six-speed manual transmission, though a GM 10-speed automatic is also available as an option.
Camaro ZL1 1LE
The revised Camaro ZL1 1LE NASCAR Cup Series body will make its competition debut next February during the 2020 Daytona Speedweeks. As of this writing, only two Chevrolet drivers remain in the hunt for the NASCAR championship, Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson. Both drivers sit below the Championship 4 cutoff line heading to Texas Motor Speedway, as well, and will need very good results to remain in contention.
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Comment
What ever they do they need to make the center of the bumper flat so they can bump draft. Right now the point on the present car makes bumping difficult and has spun out cars.