While the three current NASCAR manufacturers and sanctioning body iron out the final details of the next-generation race car and engine platform, all three are in total agreement that spec engines and common template bodies are non-starters for any version of the highest level moving forward.

The Cup Series will debut a new car for the 2021 season. It will feature a single supplier spec chassis, independent rear suspension, common components, a composite spec body and a new engine with electrical components that may get pushed back to 2022.

The bodies will vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, maintaining the showroom relevance from the current Gen-6 car.

That’s important, not only to Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota, but also for any other OEM that NASCAR hopes to attract moving forward.

In the words of Jim Campbell, Chevrolet's vice president of performance and motorsports, there "will be no crate engine."

Ford Performance global director Mark Rushbrook echoed that sentiment.

"I think all three of us agree that the heart and soul of the race car is the engine and the body," Rushbrook said. "And that's where the focus has been for the next-gen car, to make sure that we keep our own branded engines and our own independence … with the engines and the body -- the styling and aero performance of that body."

Rushbrook added that none of the three would be racing in NASCAR if it were a fully spec series.

"If there's no relevance for the manufacturer, then we'd just be in it as a sponsor," he continued.

Toyota’s Ed Laukes concurred.

"If we can't have specific relevance in the race car, then we're probably not racing," he said.

NASCAR has instituted spec engines for its third-tier Truck Series in the form of the modified Ilmor 396 also used in the ARCA Racing Series -- a power plant that utilizes a GM block.

But that’s as far as the three current manufacturers expect this to go.

NEW ENGINE BACK ON TRACK FOR 2021 DEBUT

The new engine platform, whether it debuts in 2021 or 2022, will be independent across all manufacturers. The question remains just how much electrification the new engine will initially feature and an agreed-upon timeline.

Toyota Racing Development president David Wilson was previously skeptical that the engine would meet the car’s 2021 timeline but has come around in recent months.

"I did not think it was physically possible to get to the race track in 2021," Wilson told Autoweek last week at Phoenix Raceway. "We still have a lot of work to do. There has been one track test. A very very very general test. So, there is a lot of work to do.

"To NASCAR's credit, 99 percent of the credit goes to Jim France. He has this vision and he's driving his stakeholders towards a 2021 solution. Right now, it looks like it's going to happen."

And while the engine will initially be a 550 maximum horsepower internal combustion engine, it will have the capability to become more electrical over its lifespan -- an EVO of sorts.

"We have a lot of work to do on the electrification piece," Wilson said. "Collectively, we’ve all bought into it from a philosophical perspective. From defining the type of system, the voltage, the performance, we haven’t even scratched the surface. The focus has been on what we’re racing in 2021. Hopefully, in 2022 and 2023, we’ll have that to look forward to as well."

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