The two-time Daytona 500 winner hasn't raced a Cup car since his retirement following the 2017 season, but is participating in a two-day test at Daytona International Speedway with his former Hendrick Motorsports team while reigning Cup champion Kyle Larson is competing in the Chili Bowl, an important short track midget racing event.

Speaking following the first day of running, 47-year-old Earnhardt explained that he had found the test useful to inform his punditry work, and said the new machine "does everything right."

However, he said experienced drivers who had gone through previous car changes wouldn't be at an advantage because the Car of Tomorrow (COT) arriving in 2007/2008 and the introduction of the Gen-6 car in 2013 aren't really that comparable.

"I don't think I've been a part of the sport when there’s been so many unknowns," he explained.

"Everybody goes in really with a blank sheet of paper and these teams are learning and absorbing so much data. I don’t know if I have ever been part of the sport where this has happened.

"Even with the COT, that car was somewhat like the race cars we were driving [before], it just looked different.

"But this is a completely different car from the ground up. And all the components are – not foreign, but they’re different."

NASCAR Next Gen Chevrolet Camaro

Photo by: Donald Warr, AMS

Earnhardt also took part in draft practice during day one of the Daytona test, which Penske rookie Austin Cindric said featured “pretty hard racing for a test session”.

Earnhardt said he expects the rack and pinion steering system that replaces the old pitman-arm style steering system to be one of the biggest challenges for drivers to get used to at the larger tracks, with drivers required to be more precise than ever before.

"The rack and pinion steering is probably the one thing that that would be the most difficult to get used to," he said.

"It’s so much different than the old style, the car steers very fast.

"Where you would turn the wheel quite a bit to get around the corner or try to get to a car to side draft, you’re very almost surgical with the steering now.

"Very small movements to make the car do a lot and so you can’t get real crazy with the steering wheel because the car is just going to take off (and) start darting around.

"That’s one of the things that I think would be most difficult to get used to. The rack and pinion steering and how fast it is."

Next Gen test at Daytona produced "pretty hard racing"

Jacques Villeneuve set for NASCAR Daytona 500 entry

Raikkonen doesn't rule out more NASCAR Cup outings after "fun" debut

Kurt Busch targets playoff return to NASCAR Cup after injury lay-off

How a NASCAR veteran landed a deserved farewell tour

NASCAR Cup Watkins Glen: Elliott takes pole, Raikkonen 27th

NASCAR Le Mans entry evoked fairness concerns by Toyota, Ford

NASCAR Next Gen “has to have hybrid” for Le Mans 24H entry, says ACO

Kurt Busch withdraws from 2022 NASCAR Cup playoffs

Kurt Busch will forfeit his spot in the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs as he continues to recover from concussion.

Joey Logano signs multi-year NASCAR contract extension with Penske

Team Penske and Joey Logano have agreed to a multi-year NASCAR contract extension that will keep him with the organisation “for years to come.”

Trackhouse to expand Project 91 NASCAR plans in 2023

Trackhouse Racing co-owner Justin Marks says his Project 91 programme is targeting expansion next year to “six to eight” NASCAR Cup Series races.

Rockenfeller saw "pretty much everything" in NASCAR debut

2010 24 Hours of Le Mans overall winner Mike Rockenfeller got a taste of just about everything NASCAR racing has to offer in what he described as a “wild experience” for his Cup Series debut.

The ex-F1 driver taking on NASCAR with a new team

Saddled with uncompetitive Minardi machinery, Tarso Marques didn't manage to score points in his three partial seasons of Formula 1. But now the Brazilian has the chance to show what he can do in NASCAR, and explains the story of his comeback with new Cup Series entrant Team Stange

The early benefits and challenges of NASCAR's Next Gen car

NASCAR’s new stock car generation is encouraging an influx of fresh blood into its top tier. But there are concerns that parts are in short supply as the entire paddock tries to build up stocks at the same time

How Penske's rookie sensation opened NASCAR's new era in style

After holding his nerve and hip-checking his team-mate on the run to the line, Austin Cindric made a perfect start to life as a full-timer in the NASCAR Cup Series by winning the Daytona 500. Here's how the Penske Ford man emerged first across the line in the first points-scoring race for the much-anticipated Next Generation cars

Six key themes to follow in the 2022 NASCAR Cup season

There are plenty of uncertainties ahead of the 2022 NASCAR Cup season as an all-new fleet of cars take to the track for the first time. Ahead of this weekend's Daytona 500, our experts explain what you need to know

How NASCAR had to learn a harsh lesson ahead of its Next Gen arrival

The NASCAR Cup kicks off with the Daytona 500 this weekend, but a major overhaul and a subsequent mountain of work has been required to be ready for the arrival of the Next Gen cars

How Larson took the long way round to NASCAR Cup glory

From villain to hero, Kyle Larson’s journey to the 2021 NASCAR Cup title comes straight from the Hollywood blockbuster scripts. While Larson had to reach his lifelong goal the hard way and go through a very public shaming after a ban for using a racial slur, his talents shone long before his name grabbed the headlines for both the right and the wrong reasons

How NASCAR is gearing up for its "biggest change" in 2022

It’s not just Formula 1 that’s set for upheaval in 2022, as the NASCAR Cup Series adopts its Next Gen cars that will cast any in-built advantages aside and require teams to adopt a totally new way of operating. Far more than just a change of machinery, the new cars amount to a shift in NASCAR's core philosophy

Why Bubba Wallace’s Talladega win is such a big moment for NASCAR

Bubba Wallace claimed his maiden NASCAR Cup Series at Talladega on Monday to become the first Black victor in the category since Wendell Scott in 1963. Both Wallace and Scott had faced obstacles and racism in their paths to their breakthrough wins, and NASCAR is trying to put it right with its range of diversity programmes