A new set of tech specs has caused a revolution in stock car racing, and the iRacing Chevrolet Impala SS accurately reflects all of the changes that have been implemented as a result. This new generation of stock car racer has been engineered from the beginning to present a greater challenge to the skills of even the best drivers in the world. For iRacers who climb behind the wheel of the Impala SS, the fun-to-drive factor is high, but it takes experience to get the most out of it, and talent to be able to race it successfully in a pack of other cars.

Powered by the latest version of Chevrolet’s stock car racing V8 with more than 750 horsepower, the Impala SS weighs in at 3,450 pounds. At 53.5 inches at the top of the windshield, the new Impala SS is several inches taller than its Monte Carlopredecessor, reflecting a desire to use additional aerodynamic drag to slow speeds at 2.5-mile and longer tracks, such asDaytona International Speedway and its fractionally longer sister track, Talladega Superspeedway.

Aerodynamic devices represent a major change from the previous generation of stock cars. The Impala SS has a rear wing rather than a spoiler and sports an aerodynamic splitter at the front of the car. At Daytona and Talladega, rules permita 10-degree setting on the rear wing and a one-inch wickerbill (also called a “Gurney” or “Gurney flap”), providing more downforce on that end of the car. In compliance with real-world rules, iRacing’s garage page for the Impala SS includes track-specific restrictions on rear-wing settings. While the rulebook permits a six-inch splitter, teams have found that using a somewhat smaller version is beneficial to the overall balance of the car, and the splitter in the iRacing model is consistent with this practice.

All of the mechanical adjustments permitted in the rules and possible on the physical version of the car are possible on its virtual counterpart. It’s a complicated car to set up and on a fast track a challenging one to race, but experienced simracers will achieve a high level of satisfaction in competing on America’s top stock car tracks with the Chevrolet Impala SS, and every iRacer can test with the car to sample what was previously off limits to all but the top-level pros.