NASCAR announced in January that the car of tomorrow would be used in Nextel Cup competition beginning in the spring of 2007 at Bristol Motor Speedway, and that it would be phased in over three years. It will be in 16 of 36 races next year. Brian France, the chairman and chief executive of NASCAR, led the pitch for the concept, which became a priority after the racetrack deaths of Dale Earnhardt and others. The new car will be two inches taller and four inches wider. It is hoped that the design, which gives more space to the driver, will improve the quality of races by removing some of the dependence on aerodynamics that has taken some of the competition out of the drivers’ hands and turned stock-car racing into more of a sport of engineers. The new racecar will eliminate the designs of individual manufacturers from Ford, Chevrolet, Dodge and, next year’s addition, Toyota. All cars will be virtually identical except for the fake grill that differentiates the models. NASCAR officials say the car will control costs because there will be no need to build as many racecars to fit different tracks on the circuit. Some teams have as many as 17 racecars for use at various tracks; they will need perhaps only 10 in the future because there will be so few adjustments allowed from car to car, according to Gary Nelson, who recently resigned as NASCAR’s vice president for research and development but will remain involved with the development of the car. NASCAR figures that by phasing in the changes over three years, the current equipment will not become immediately obsolete. Teams can use up their inventory along the way. NASCAR officials say they are still experimenting and that researchers are years away from finding the right specifications for the midsize 1½-mile ovals, which is why the car of tomorrow will not be used at those tracks until 2009.(in part from the New York Times…past news and images on my COT Page)(3-4-2006)
