NEWS- Lionel Authentics 2022 Wave 2

What seems like eons in the making, the new Generation 7s are finally here in 1/64 form. After a relatively short delay between Wave 1 and Wave 2, the second round of widely distributed retail ready cars premier along side a singe Xfinity entry. Most of the offerings from Wave 2 cover the announcement phase of the 2022 season. Test cars and team cars abound...

Wave 2 of the year has finally arrived. The long awaited debut of brand new moulds for Nascar's top series in the 1/64 scale is presented by Lionel Racing. This Wave offers race fans a total of nine different race cars. All but one, a Dale Jr. Xfinity car, features the new Gen 7 mould but somewhat curiously only the Ford and Chevy chassis are part of Wave 2. The Camry is sadly m.i.a. 5 Chevy's, and 3 Ford Mustangs round out the group. At first glance I love the variety. There are test cars, show cars, and even a few 2022 standard schemes to choose from. 

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​Trackhouse Racing 2022 Flagship Test Car: Daniel Suarez

Before any of us knew what the standard liveries for 2022 would look like, eager teams gave us something to chew on. This team themed Trackhouse car is a nice choice for Wave 2. With the regular season nearing completion, who would have said Trackhouse would win three races to this point? All of a sudden, T.H.R. is a major player in cup and gets it's recognition here. It looks like the numbers may not be chrome as they are on the 1/1 version. I do like the Trackhouse mission and the team energy is well emphasized in this paint scheme. The car comes with a sticker.

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Hendrick Motorsports 2022 Test Cars: Kyle Larson, and Chase Elliott
Some test cars can be about as bland as they come. While it's always nice to have test car representation in 1//64 scale, there isn't much to talk about when referring to the HMS test cars. When Gen. 7 testing commenced last season, I must say it was really exciting. Not necessarily because I love the Gen. 7 car (still on the fence overall) but because the sport made a significant advance towards a new more widely approachable sport. These cars are nice remembrance of the excitement that many fan enjoyed leading up to the new race cars from 2022.

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Stewart-Haas Racing 2022 Test Car: Cole Custer

Stewart-Haas brought test cars for the 10 team, the 4 team, and the 41 team during test sessions. These three cars were shared by all of the SHR drivers. The 10 & 41 were both black and besides the stylized numbers, looked the same. The best looking test car of the bunch was the slate blue/robin's egg blue number 4. That sadly wasn't the choice for the debut wave. That being said and looking at the pros, I do love the old-school road racing number style on the 41 car. The 'Stewart-Haas' titles look nice and sort of harken back to the old True Value IROC cars. I think any C.C. fan, and most SHR fans will be happy to add this test car to their stables. This car also comes with a sticker. 

If there's one nice thing about this test car, the Lionel Authentics line is the only way to get it.

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Richard Childress Racing Test Car: Austin Dillon

When the teams bring their test cars to the track, it's always interesting to see what comes out of each race shop. You have everything from the ultra-bland HMS cars like the ones we were just looking at to the liveries that are essentially race ready. Austin Dillon and the RCR group brought a virtually full schemed 3 car to a number of their first test sessions. Austin infamous was one of the first drivers to total his Gen. 7 tester at Charlotte, and even more infamously still, RCR had the car shipped back to the shop n a flatbed. 

Photography by Bob Pockrass

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JTG Daugherty Racing 2022 Test Car: Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

The biggest surprise of Wave number 2 is easy the offering of a JTG 47 car. For whatever reason, the 47 rarely gets any kind of diecast love. This is the first time since 2018, Wave 10 that a JTG machine has been made for the Authentics line, just the second time ever since the line began in 2016. That car was at that time still piloted by the legendary AJ Allmendinger, so yes, this is the first Stenhouse 47 car since 2018 Wave 7 (the Yates tribute Roush 17).

Some have noted that the number is in the 'wrong spot.' That is incorrect. The 47 was placed at the door center. Remember, this is a testbed chassis, not a race ready chassis. Also note how much larger the Kroger title is compared to what's been standard in 2022. 

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Roush Fenway Keselowski 2022 Test Car: Brad Keselowski 

Long ago it now seems were the days when Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle, and Matt Kenseth were dominating in the cup series for Jack Roush. Since the steady consolidation down to to mid-field cars there hasn't been much in the line of excitement for the Roush Fenway group. That is until the major off season announcement that brought Cup Champion Bread Keselowski into the ownership fold. With he reorganization in ownership has come new energy and new dedication to bring the performance of the 6, and 17 programs to a more competitive place. It has been an admittedly slow roll for RFK after a winning both of the Daytona Duel races back in February. It does seem however that some solid partnerships and new innovations are happening at 4600 Roush Place. The car representing the fresh start looks ok. Lionel didn't spring for the chrome number, oh well.

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Stewart Haas Racing 2022 GearWrench Mustang: Kevin Harvick

Bitter-sweet. That's a common issue with the Authentics line. It's a wonderful opportunity to pick up some excellent 1/64s at a great price when they are done right. But often, especially when it comes to SHR Harvick cars, sponsors must be left off in order for the car to be distributed to the retailers. The GearWrench Mustang for 2022 has looked outstanding on track. The 1/1 seems to have metallic orange accents. It looks awesome on the television screen and in person, but this 1/64 looks awkward and naked. So far in 2022 the SHR teams have really struggled with performance. At the time of writing this post, the 14 has one win, and Harvick just backed into a win at Michighan. So this car hasn't gotten a lot of attention. It's a good scheme though and the first regular season representative.

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JR Motorsports 2022 Hellmans Camaro: Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Just as it has become customary for Dale Jr. to make one or two attempts every year in the Xifnity series, so to is it commonplace to make sure that a Dale Jr. diecast is available in the Authentics line whenever and wherever possible. As soon as JR. Motorsports and Hellmans put up a fan vote for Jr's Richmond livery, Lionel had plans to make a 1/64 copy of the car he would drive. With one start in 2022 and 26 points secured, Dale Jr's continuing hobby to pop into one of the company cars and compete for fun is commemorated in this second wave of 2022. The car itself is a true reflection of what the fans want to see. The car looks pretty good. The blue and gold are distinctively Earnhardt, and the design is clean.

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Conclusion:
While the jury is still out on the new mould, the new schemes, and all the other newness of 2022, it's still good to have the new mould out to consumers. I'm looking forward to finding the new wave of 1/64s out in stores, and I'm anxious to compare it to previous Authentics cars. I do like the selection for Wave 2. There's a lot of diversity, and some great Nascar history that can be found. There's always room for improvement and the absence of a Toyota Camry in this bunch is puzzling. Beyond anything else, the biggest hope for me is that Lionel has their quality control locked down. This is a big moment for the company, and the quality of these cars will have a bog overall impact on how many I end up buying over the next several years. Lionel has a lot riding on these new moulds.