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The Chevrolet Camaro went out of production in 2023, but it has been representing the bowtie brand in NASCAR ever since.
Camaro bodies are still used in the Cup Series and Xfinity Series, while the Silverado is featured in the truck series.
Chevy found itself in a bit of a pickle following the launch of the all-new seventh generation Next Gen Cup Series car in 2022, because it discontinued the Camaro just a year later and the Malibu sedan in 2024, leaving the Corvette as its only car in a lineup mostly comprised of SUVs and trucks.
Instead of wasting the effort put into developing the Next Gen Camaro and redesigning the Xfinity Series car for 2019, it opted to continue racing them.
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The rules allowed it, but restricted the changes it could make. It also left it with nothing to sell on Monday when it won a race on Sunday. For 2025, it took the Camaro branding off of the cars and replaced it with Chevrolet, but now it’s finally gotten around to replacing the Camaro altogether.
Elton Sawyer, NASCAR’s senior vice president of competition, announced on SiriusXM NASCAR radio this week that a new Chevrolet body has been tested and approved for 2026.
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““We started working back with the folks there at GM probably over a year or so ago now,” Sawyer said, according to a transcript posted The Daily Downforce.
“Then they started submitting the body parts, and then they go to a wind tunnel test where all the OEMs, our original equipment manufacturers, are there and watch how that test unfolds at the wind tunnel. So all the boxes have been checked and looking forward to seeing the new Chevrolet when we get to Daytona in 2026.”
Sawyer didn’t reveal what model the car is based on, however, and Chevrolet hasn’t spilled the beans. The Corvette remains a possibility, even though the production car is a mid-engine design. There’s also the chance that it figured out a way to integrate the styling of one of its crossovers into the NASCAR coupe body. We’ve speculated on a few other prospects in a video on the subject, but await formal word from Chevrolet.

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