NASCAR’s foward-looking Next Gen Cup Series cars have a new way for drivers to look behind them.
During a test this week at Daytona International Speedway, the radically redesigned cars were equipped with a digital rear view mirror with a video display instead of a reflective surface, like those featured on some production cars and trucks.
Several production vehicles, including the GMC Sierra pickup, feature the digital rear view mirror tech.
(GMC)
In car footage of Chris Buescher’s Roush Fenway Ford Mustang shows the tech in action, which uses a camera at the back of the car to provide a clear view behind it that bypasses all of the visual obstructions created by the roll cage, wires and hoses clogging up the interior.
Current Cup Series cars feature an oversized, convex mirror, while the camera offers a similarly wide view.
Buescher called the display “neat.”
“You can actually see quite a bit more than you’re used to, he said.” “Objects in mirror are closer than they appear, it still applies to the camera, too.”
Buescher’s car featured the new ‘mirror’ tech.
(NASCAR)
Earlier this year, NASCAR had trialed a display mounted to the center console, which is the layout that some sports racing cars use.
A NASCAR spokesman told Fox News Autos that the mirror is definitely planned for use in the Next Gen car, which is entering its final development phase before its debut at next year’s Daytona 500.
The redesigned cars are a break from tradition and feature an independent rear suspension, five-speed sequential manual transmission and low-profile tires on 18-inch wheels, among other updates.
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The test at Daytona was primarily aimed at seeing how the cars perform in drafting and pack racing scenarios.
This story has been updated with comment from NASCAR
