The Approved Body Configuration (ABC) has approved the “Next Gen” body for asphalt late model competition beginning in 2021, according to a press release by ABC.

The Next Gen body—along with the current ABC body produced by AR and Five Star Race Car Bodies—will be legal for Champion Racing Ass’n, Southern Super Series, ARCA Midwest Tour, CARS Tour and SRL Southwest Tour competition.  

Updates to the Next Gen body include an improved design for the body panels, which will help reduce the potential for overall body shape manipulation. A more complete set of inspection templates and dimensions have also been developed in order to maintain shape parity.

“The new body style has been proven, through extensive wind tunnel testing and a year of on-track competition, to be aerodynamically equal to the current body,” a company press release stated.

Sanctioning organizations may also have the option to implement the new body design late in the 2020 season in order to help the teams in need of major repairs.

Five Star released the Next Gen body in 2019, but it wasn’t approved for widespread competition until this announcement. The ABC committee will work with AR Bodies in an effort to keep two manufacturers in the program, according to the press release.  

For more information, visit fivestarbodies.com/ABC.

Photo courtesy of Five Star Race Car Bodies, Facebook