Car of Tomorrow revving up

BRISTOL, Tenn. -- NASCAR wants to speed up implementation of itsCar of Tomorrow to have it in use full-time by 2008, officials saidWednesday.

The COT will debut March 25 at Bristol Motor Speedway, the firstof 16 races this season for the car designed to improve racing,bolster safety and cut team costs. The car was scheduled to run 26races in 2008, and the full Nextel Cup schedule in 2009.

But Nextel Cup director John Darby said NASCAR is leaning towardputting the COT in full use next season.

"Whether we would expand the COT schedule for 2007 is probablynot likely. But could we be all in for 2008? I think that is verypossible," Darby said.

The announcement came on the first of NASCAR's two-day COT testat Bristol, where 50 teams were on hand to get a feel for the newcar. But unlike past test sessions that were riddled with complaintsand criticisms, drivers and crew chiefs seemed resigned to the carand focused only on fine tuning it for competition.

"From a driver's perspective, once you get in the car it's just acar," Jeff Burton said. "In my world, it's no longer about the Carof Tomorrow. It's just about a car, trying to do it better thaneverybody else. The Car of Tomorrow is here today."

That's the attitude NASCAR is hoping will lead to a push from carowners to implement the car faster. Although the COT is expected toultimately cut productions costs, teams are currently spendingthrough the roof to produce a fleet of stock cars while alsodeveloping the COT.

"It's a pain in the butt for the teams to run two parallelprograms with two different race cars," Darby said. "It's a pain forus to manipulate and work and apply two different rule books, twodifferent inspection procedures.

"A lot of what's happening is it's settling in to all thecompetitors that this is the future, this is the car. Why are wegoing to wait three years? I don't think we will."

But four-time series champion Jeff Gordon warned that it's toosoon to declare the COT ready to run a 36-race schedule next season.

"I think it's too early to really commit to that. I understand itfrom a financial standpoint ... but I think until we get throughsome races, I really think there are some changes that might need tohappen," Gordon said. "That's why we are running it this year, so wecan get the car out there, put in race conditions and go through theinspection process, qualifying, race prep -- everything that it'sgoing to take and really evaluate this car fully."

The COT is a six-year project that started under Gary Nelson,NASCAR's former vice president of research and development, when thesanctioning body was reeling from the 2001 death of Dale Earnhardt.Under fire because of its antiquated safety system, NASCAR tookseveral steps to update its equipment, including the development ofthe COT. The design changes in the care are not subtle. It's 4inches wider and 2 inches taller than NASCAR's current race cars.The roll cage has shifted 3 inches to the rear, and the driver'sseat 4 inches to the right.

An energy-absorbing material between the roll cage and the car'sskin gives drivers a new layer of protection. The exhaust systemruns through the body, diverting heat away from the driver andletting it out on the right side. The drive shaft is covered by atunnel under the floorboard to keep it from tearing through the carif it should explode.

The windshield is more upright, designed to increase the amountof drag and slow the cars. The front bumper is 3 inches higher andthicker, boxier in design, and should catch air rather than deflectit.

A "splitter" in the form of a flat shelf is now below the frontbumper. And the current rear spoiler has been replaced with a wingthat looks more like something on a street car than a stock car.

Both features are designed to improve racing conditions and makethe COT compatible with various tracks. The splitter and the wingare both adjustable, so teams can tinker with them to improvehandling.

The wing will push air both over and under it, giving the carmore stability in traffic and improving the aerodynamics of thetrailing car.

It's all supposed to improve the racing on the track -- once theteams get used to it.

After Wednesday, everyone seemed to be mildly surprised.

"It actually drives better than our other cars do here,"Earnhardt said. "It has exceeded my expectations at this point as tohow the car is driving. I anticipated it to be a little more of astruggle. The racing (at Bristol) should be about exactly the sameit has been."

Car of Tomorrow revving up

BRISTOL, Tenn. -- NASCAR wants to speed up implementation of itsCar of Tomorrow to have it in use full-time by 2008, officials saidWednesday.

The COT will debut March 25 at Bristol Motor Speedway, the firstof 16 races this season for the car designed to improve racing,bolster safety and cut team costs. The car was scheduled to run 26races in 2008, and the full Nextel Cup schedule in 2009.

But Nextel Cup director John Darby said NASCAR is leaning towardputting the COT in full use next season.

"Whether we would expand the COT schedule for 2007 is probablynot likely. But could we be all in for 2008? I think that is verypossible," Darby said.

The announcement came on the first of NASCAR's two-day COT testat Bristol, where 50 teams were on hand to get a feel for the newcar. But unlike past test sessions that were riddled with complaintsand criticisms, drivers and crew chiefs seemed resigned to the carand focused only on fine tuning it for competition.

"From a driver's perspective, once you get in the car it's just acar," Jeff Burton said. "In my world, it's no longer about the Carof Tomorrow. It's just about a car, trying to do it better thaneverybody else. The Car of Tomorrow is here today."

That's the attitude NASCAR is hoping will lead to a push from carowners to implement the car faster. Although the COT is expected toultimately cut productions costs, teams are currently spendingthrough the roof to produce a fleet of stock cars while alsodeveloping the COT.

"It's a pain in the butt for the teams to run two parallelprograms with two different race cars," Darby said. "It's a pain forus to manipulate and work and apply two different rule books, twodifferent inspection procedures.

"A lot of what's happening is it's settling in to all thecompetitors that this is the future, this is the car. Why are wegoing to wait three years? I don't think we will."

But four-time series champion Jeff Gordon warned that it's toosoon to declare the COT ready to run a 36-race schedule next season.

"I think it's too early to really commit to that. I understand itfrom a financial standpoint ... but I think until we get throughsome races, I really think there are some changes that might need tohappen," Gordon said. "That's why we are running it this year, so wecan get the car out there, put in race conditions and go through theinspection process, qualifying, race prep -- everything that it'sgoing to take and really evaluate this car fully."

The COT is a six-year project that started under Gary Nelson,NASCAR's former vice president of research and development, when thesanctioning body was reeling from the 2001 death of Dale Earnhardt.Under fire because of its antiquated safety system, NASCAR tookseveral steps to update its equipment, including the development ofthe COT. The design changes in the care are not subtle. It's 4inches wider and 2 inches taller than NASCAR's current race cars.The roll cage has shifted 3 inches to the rear, and the driver'sseat 4 inches to the right.

An energy-absorbing material between the roll cage and the car'sskin gives drivers a new layer of protection. The exhaust systemruns through the body, diverting heat away from the driver andletting it out on the right side. The drive shaft is covered by atunnel under the floorboard to keep it from tearing through the carif it should explode.

The windshield is more upright, designed to increase the amountof drag and slow the cars. The front bumper is 3 inches higher andthicker, boxier in design, and should catch air rather than deflectit.

A "splitter" in the form of a flat shelf is now below the frontbumper. And the current rear spoiler has been replaced with a wingthat looks more like something on a street car than a stock car.

Both features are designed to improve racing conditions and makethe COT compatible with various tracks. The splitter and the wingare both adjustable, so teams can tinker with them to improvehandling.

The wing will push air both over and under it, giving the carmore stability in traffic and improving the aerodynamics of thetrailing car.

It's all supposed to improve the racing on the track -- once theteams get used to it.

After Wednesday, everyone seemed to be mildly surprised.

"It actually drives better than our other cars do here,"Earnhardt said. "It has exceeded my expectations at this point as tohow the car is driving. I anticipated it to be a little more of astruggle. The racing (at Bristol) should be about exactly the sameit has been."