Hard work really does pay off, as the iRacing NASCAR Cup Series is now well within your fingertips. Having bossed the lower-license series, it’s now time to take on the big boys in the pinnacle of stock car racing.
While those that have mained the Truck series may not find the Cup car much of a jump up, those who have focused on fixtures featuring the Xfinity or ARCA-type cars will have a little more to digest.
Coach Dave Academy is here to help you learn everything you need to know when stepping up to the Next Gen NASCAR Cup Car and Series.
The Nascar Cup Cars
The NASCAR Cup challenger represents a radically different challenge than the B Class NASCAR Xfinity machine and has more in common with the C Class Truck instead. This is because it’s designed to produce more downforce, meaning the car is more stuck to the road through the bends compared to the light-on-downforce Xfinity vehicle.
Unsurprisingly, the Cup car has the most aerodynamic downforce and power of the three top-level NASCAR offerings. They run at 670 hp for most tracks and 510 superspeedways like Daytona and Talladega. At times it’s easy to forget they have more power than Xfinity racers due to the extra downforce and wider tires.
The Cup car also differs from the other NASCAR vehicles as it has a five-speed sequential transmission rather than an H-Pattern layout like its predecessor and the Xfinity/Truck. This means the clutch only needs to be used on standing starts.
The Cup car comes in three different shapes, mirroring the setup in the Truck and Xfinity series. These are the Toyota Camry, the Ford Mustang, and the Chevrolet Camaro. All three feature similar physics, so only their aesthetics differentiate them. They all need to be purchased separately.
Race Series Format
NASCAR Class A Cup Fixed
Like the Trucks and Xfinity fixtures, there are fixed and open events available for the Cup Series. A five-minute qualifying session is held on oval tracks, which increases to eight minutes for road courses. Two laps are given to post a competitive time.
Every race takes place over a set number of laps, with cautions and the lucky dog rule for lapped cars in play. The Fixed race is half the number of laps of the Open fixture.
While rain is disabled for oval races, the wet stuff can affect things at road courses. Realistic weather is enabled for all events in any case, which means that wind direction and differing temperatures can affect the car and track behavior as the race progresses.
- Races run for around 40-50 minutes
- Two qualifying laps allowed to set the best time in qualifying
- Cautions and Lucky Dog are enabled
- Realistic weather on for all events, rain switched off for oval races
- Fixed setups are mandated
NASCAR Class A Cup Open
The Open NASCAR Cup Series follows a similar pattern to that of its Fixed sibling, though there are a few key differences;
- Open races run for around 80-90 minutes
- Calendar matches real-life order, any off-weeks will have substitute tracks run
- All setup parameters available to change
- At least one pit stop will be needed due to lack of fuel, tire change is strongly recommended
What License Is Needed To Race
To compete in the NASCAR Cup Series you’ll need to reach the pinnacle of oval racing licences, A. The recommended path to reaching this is to first record clean races in Rookie Street Stocks, before then choosing Late Models or ARCA in D Class. Once reaching C Class, those on a budget can focus on open Street Stocks while others can go the Truck route.
From there, running the Xfinity Series at B level should give you a good chance to run with some talented and experienced oval racers before moving to the top class.
As soon as you achieve your A Class oval license, you’re ready to purchase the content needed to compete in the Cup Series.
Nascar Series Costing
The NASCAR Cup Series normally runs a schedule predominantly made of paid tracks, with the 2024 Season 3 calendar all being premium venues. All tracks in use come in at $14.95, which totals up to just over $179.50 for the full season. Adding one of the NASCAR Cup cars into the equation pushes the price up to around $192.
Bear in mind that those who have taken the traditional ladder to the Cup Series will likely have already purchased a fair few of these tracks, meaning the total will be lower.
Following in the footsteps of the Xfinity and Truck fixtures, the Open Cup championship runs the same schedule as in real life over a total of 39 weeks.
Just one of the 39 tracks is free during the course of the season, though several are run twice. The total cost for running the full season would be around $400 for the tracks needed, plus the cost of a Cup challenger.
What’s So Special?
There’s nothing quite like piloting the vehicles your real-life racing heroes battle with every Sunday, even if it’s only virtually. Competing in the iRacing NASCAR Cup Series allows you to replicate, and for very skilled drivers, exceed, what the real drivers can accomplish at the pinnacle of stock car racing.
The high power and downforce levels put out by the Cup cars, combined with the high tire fall-off, means smoothness and canny racecraft will be key to achieving any kind of success.
The Cup Series allows drivers to combine all of the valuable experience gained from racing in the lower fixtures and put it together. Getting used to the high-powered ARCA and Xfinity cars means the step up in grunt shouldn’t be huge, and the wheel-to-wheel and tire-saving prowess learned from the lower tiers will be key in allowing you to fight the very best virtual Cup racers.
Cup Car Can Take Unwitting Pilots By Surprise
Even though the Cup car features more downforce than the Xfinity or Truck vehicles, that doesn’t mean it’s easier to master. While the balance of the car tends to fall more towards understeer, the swing to oversteer can be sudden and very difficult to recover from. Even if they can be recovered from, the lurid slides that result can completely destroy your tires.
Running the car slightly ‘tight’ is the best way around this, as any kind of baked-in snappiness will likely cause you big problems down the road. Having a consistent balance is also key due to the steep tire fall-off seen in the Cup series. Expect to pretty much cruise around for a large portion of the race to ensure you keep your rubber in check, as otherwise, you’ll find yourself freefalling through the order in the latter stages.
Patience is key to success in the Cup Series, both in terms of saving tires and not overdriving the car and losing control.
- Try and keep balance more towards understeer for the race, though caution will need to taken to preserve front right tire as a result
- Steering ratios of 12:1 or 14:1 will help to save front tires, though higher ratios will make it more difficult to catch should rear snap
- Due to high tire wear, undercutting opponent can be very powerful, though be wary in the closing laps
- Running longer can allow you to attack rivals with fresher tires later on, though pushing too hard will quickly erode your advantage
To Conclude
As is to be expected, the NASCAR Cup vehicle requires a high level of driving skill to get the most from it. The small margin between understeer and snappy oversteer can be tricky to get a handle on, though building experience will help you to find the feeling to build confidence.
There’s nothing quite like running at the front in the pinnacle of a particular race category, so this should act as a great motivation to conquer the Cup machine. Who knows, the prolific eNASCAR iRacing Series awaits for those who feel up for the challenge…
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