Generation 4 (NASCAR)

Generation 4

Jeff Gordon's No. 24 Chevrolet Monte Carlo in 1997
Constructor	Chevrolet Ford Pontiac (until 2003) Dodge (since 2001) Oldsmobile (only in 1992) Toyota (selected 2007 races)
Predecessor	Generation 3
Successor	Car of Tomorrow
Technical specifications
Wheelbase	110 in (279.4 cm)
Engine	90° pushrod V-8 358 cubic inches (5,870 cc)
Fuel	Unocal 76 (1992-2003) Sunoco Unleaded (2004-2007)
Tires	Goodyear
Competition history
Debut	February 16, 1992 (1992 Daytona 500)
Last event	November 18, 2007 (2007 Ford 400)

The Generation 4 car was the NASCAR vehicle generation used from 1992 to 2006 full-time and 2007 part time in the NASCAR Cup Series,^[1] and in the Busch/Nationwide Series until 2010. The generation has been described as the generation that removed all "stock" aspects from stock car racing and as aerodynamically sensitive as a Le Mans Prototype.^[2]

Generation 4 cars feature highly modified bodies with teams to spending hours in the wind tunnel to gain aerodynamics.^[3] The bumpers, nose and tail composed of molded fiberglass based on production counterparts.^[3][1]

History[]

In 1992, the Gen 4 car arrived at the sport when steel bodies were replaced by fiberglass to decrease weight, and wind tunnels became a staple as teams worked to gain aerodynamics.^[4] At racing speeds approaching 200 miles per hour, a modern NASCAR race car can generate enough lift to get airborne if it spins sideways. To keep cars firmly planted, roof flaps were required in 1994.^[3]

In 1995, Chevrolet switched back to the Monte Carlo,^[1] which started the trend of rounder body shapes in Cup and the then-Busch Series. In 1998, Ford introduced the Taurus, which was the first four-door stock car car model approved for NASCAR competition in the modern era.^[1]

In 2001, Dodge made its return to NASCAR with the Intrepid.^[1] That same year, Dale Earnhardt died from a crash at the Daytona 500, leading NASCAR to make serious safety changes. In 2003, in response to the asymmetrical body of the Taurus in the previous seasons, NASCAR set up new body rules, better known as the "common body templates" rule; as a result, the hood, roof, and decklid were no longer required to be identical to their stock counterparts. In 2004, the sport switched from Unocal 76 fuel to Sunoco.^[5]

The Gen 4 car was used full time until 2006, and it was retired in the Cup Series after twenty races in 2007 (in which Toyota, who had already competed in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, made their debut in the Cup and the then-Busch Series with the Camry), while the other sixteen races were run by the fifth-generation Car of Tomorrow. The Car of Tomorrow went full-time in 2008, with the second-tier series adopting their own Car of Tomorrow first part-time in 2010 and full-time the following year.

In the generation's final years, aerodynamic development led to some of the cars (otherwise known as "offset" bodies) being called "twisted sisters" in reference to the asymmetrical shapes of the car's body. The Car of Tomorrow, by contrast, featured a symmetrical body in order to curb aerodynamic development wars in an attempt to cut costs.

Models[]

Kasey Kahne's 2007 Dodge Charger

Greg Biffle's 2005 Ford Taurus

Tony Stewart's 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix

Chrysler[]

• Dodge Intrepid (2001–2004, no model branding in 2004)
• Dodge Charger (2004–2007, use continued until 2010 in Nationwide Series)

Ford[]

• Ford Thunderbird (1992–1997)
• Ford Taurus (1998–2005)
• Ford Fusion (2006–2007, use continued until 2010 in Nationwide Series)

General Motors[]

• Chevrolet Lumina (1992-1994)
• Chevrolet Monte Carlo (1995–2005)
• Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS (2006–2007, use continued until 2008 in Nationwide Series)
• Chevrolet Impala (2009-2010, Nationwide Series only)
• Pontiac Grand Prix (1992–2004, no factory support after 2003, use continued until 2005 in Busch Series)
• Oldsmobile Cutlass (1992)

Toyota[]

• Toyota Camry (2007, use continued until 2010 in Nationwide Series)

See also[]

• Cup Series cars

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Generation 4 NASCAR automobiles.