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There’s a new American NASCAR Next Gen car. South American, that is.
The NASCAR Brasil Series (sp) is a NASCAR-sanctioned series that competes mostly on road courses, but does have a short oval track on the schedule.
It was launched independently more than a decade ago, but adopted NASCAR branding 2022. NASCAR Cup Series driver Daniel Suarez won a race last season at Interlagos as a guest driver.
The cars are unique and different from anything raced by NASCAR in the U.S. and feature Ford and Chevrolet body styles.
Former F1 driver Rubens Barrichello won the 2025 championship in a Ford Mustang, which was the last before an all-new spec car launches in 2026.
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The series unveiled the Rise26 cars in Sao Paolo this week. The Ford is a Mustang again, but while the Chevrolet looks like the old Camaro, it’s not branded as a Camaro, since the model is out of production. Chevrolet pulled the Camaro name off of its Cup Series and Xfinity Series cars this season for the same reason, although they still have ZL1 badges. Ford does sell Mustangs in Brazil and Chevy previously offered the Camaro in the country.
The new Brazilian cars were inspired by the Next Gen cars in terms of improving their performance and safety. Their seats have been moved closer to the center of the cars, they are lighter and have easily removable front and rear subframes for simpler repairs after crashes.
Read Also: CHEVROLET IS FINALLY GETTING NEW NASCAR CARS IN 2026, BUT WHAT WILL REPLACE THE CAMARO?
Both cars are powered by ethanol-fueled 360 hp V6 engines that drive the rear wheels through a six-speed paddle-shifted transmission and ride on double wishbone suspensions. The chassis are steel and the bodies carbon fiber.
“The Rise26 was born with a spirit of spectacle. It’s a car that delivers more intensity for fans, more tools for teams, and more reliability for drivers. It’s the step NASCAR Brazil needed to take,” said Thiago Marques, director of NASCAR Brazil and CEO of SRB, the car’s manufacturer.
The first on tracK testing for teams is scheduled for next March ahead of the season.

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