NASCAR To Introduce Composite Bodies In 2017 – Mandatory By 2019


NASCAR To Introduce Composite Bodies In 2017 – Mandatory By 2019

NASCAR is going to look a little different under its skin. The racing sanctioning body has announced that it will allow composite bodies at three of its races in 2017 and by 2019 the composite bodies will be mandatory equipment for all race teams. While this is another step away from “stock”, it doesn’t really matter anymore does it? Not for the looks of the race car but for the employment of a lot of people in the sport it does look different. Current NASCAR bodies are sheetmetal and as such there are guys who work for these teams forming panels and fitting them properly or however the team wants them. It would seem that these guys are in big trouble when it comes to a job future, right?

The one thing we can see this helping is the whole situation now where crews cannot repair their cars on pit row. If they have these bodies which are made up of a punch of different panels and pieces they could just as easily take a fragged panel off and load on a pre-logo equipped piece in the span of a pit stop if they wanted to.

Five Star Race Car Bodies will be providing everyone their bodies apparently and while there is consistency there it just seems like another way to bleed whatever creative personality out of the sport that it had left.

Click on the image below to see the whole story from NASCAR.com


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14 thoughts on “NASCAR To Introduce Composite Bodies In 2017 – Mandatory By 2019

  1. john

    Who cares? When NASCAR took away individual team innovation they lost me and many of their fans. Just look at the stands at the next race. Now that football is starting they will loose even more. More road course races could be helpful.

  2. david kluttz

    Their show and product is awful! They keep making it worse–they have lost their way is an understatement—-a race with $5000 dirt cars is WAY more fun to watch than a NASCAR race with million $$ Cars–does that make any sense? Hey a Lemons race is more fun to watch than a NASCAR race. Years back they started purging all of the local \”good old boys\” that made the sport==fire them and hire a $200K a year engineer from overseas–hows that working for you Nascar??
    Empty stands tell the tale–if they can\’t see that and come up with a plan then ..tough It proves they are idiots
    First day on the job I would sell all tickets for $10 each with free parking and $2 beers ( not $12 beers) set aside half the stands for family and other half for the rest–Hotdogs $2 Bet I could sell out the race and get TONS of free press Skip all the bands and BS just put on a GOOD RACE–limit tire size or do crate engines or whatever it takes to equal cars up–heck have a claimer rule on the cars—anything except the way they are doing
    Gee I act as if I care but I do NOT

  3. Bill Butte

    They’ll need a ‘jet-powered’ vacuum cleaner to suck up all the dust & splinters from the car bodies when they crash…….

  4. Gary Smrtic

    Five Star owns a large part of NHRA, too. We used to build composite stuff for several professional teams. I T/F wing set the speed record, and the chassis builder lobbied NHRA so that he’s the only guy who can provide wings. Same with body panels. We did some of the first fire and smoke resistant carbon fiber interior panels, and were set to work on more side impact protection for the composite doors following the R&M, Koretski crash, but 5-Star got the nod from NHRA because they sold to more teams, where we worked with select teams in a proprietary relationship. The race sanctioning bodies continue to screw the little guy…

  5. Richard

    Same issue as ProStock. Factory sheet metal would save both. The word STOCK has to mean something. Stock sheet metal is the ticket. Who cares if either go over 180? Stock floor pans and dog house too! Factory body in white.

  6. Hueychief

    The American love affair with the automobile is over . No more race on Sunday , buy on Monday .
    Both Nascar and NHRA thought the glory days would last forever and milked their sport for all it was worth .

    1. Blownflattie

      “Vintage” NASCAR races would be cool.

      I no longer follow the NASCAR Toyota Series and could care less what
      new expense they use to keep their club small. (Small like 12 and 13 car
      NHRA Pro Brackets are becoming)

      1. Matt Cramer

        I’ve seen vintage stock cars run at HSR events before, and it’s pretty fun to watch. HSR doesn’t have anything like the “rubbing is racing” mentality that NASCAR does, though.

  7. Truckin Ted

    Many good points made above, particularly the $10 tickets. Actually, that’s a large part why Bowman Gray Stadium packs the stands every Saturday night. If you’re in NC, stop by and see the show at the “Mad House”.

    In the end, it’s not one thing that’s bankrupted NASCAR in terms of the fan base……it’s a combination of bad decisions. And all of the hard work that Bill France, Sr. put in motion to make NASCAR successful, have now been put into financial limbo in a span in 10 years or so. Having Brian France manage anything more than a snow cone trailer was the first bad decision that led to another and another;- and so on.

  8. 71C10SWB

    Go look at the research about 3rd generation family businesses. It’s not good. The 3rd generation doesn’t have the blood and sweat invested in the business, they just reaped the benefits of their parents and grandparents. They’ve never had to sacrifice. Brian France is a prime example of this.

  9. Matt Cramer

    This looks like some sort of effort to reign in cheating with body shapes, although I could see somebody getting creative with how the mount the panels to distort the bodywork. While I’d prefer mandating factory body stampings, NASCAR has always had a bit of spec racer to it, and I’m not against mandating a spec body.

  10. Gary Willis

    The downfall started at the top > Trust fund kid running Nascar is a joke . Mike Helton not much help either . Third generation dynasties usually fail, Founder gets it off the ground 2nd generation grows up in the business then the 3rd generation screws it up. Nascar started with a racer at the top lets go back to a racer at the top ! Yankess now in the tank, Lakers now in the tank, Indy car racing in the tank rest my case !!! where is HUMPY WHEELER ?

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