NASCAR’S planned open test today for the new Ford Taurus has fallen through, with only one team, the Woods, bringing a car. ”You can’t test what you don’t have,” Ford’s Don Miller said, saying NASCAR officials still haven’t approved three crucial body templates. One of those templates is the roof template. The roof of the production Taurus is rounded, which allows more air to reach the rear spoiler, giving it more relative downforce than a flat-roof Monte Carlo. Which way NASCAR will go is unclear. Ford executives are to meet again today with NASCAR officials to discuss the templates for the 1998 racing Taurus, and some Ford teams are worried that NASCAR will demand some significant aerodynamic changes. But Ford’s Preston Miller called yesterday’s meeting with NASCAR positive, and insisted that there was no brewing controversy. (JournalNow)(10-13-97)
