nachomama
All Up In Your Grill
http://www.nascar.com/2007/news/headlines/cup/05/22/cot.full.time/index.html
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- NASCAR announced Tuesday that the Car of Tomorrow will be fully implemented for the 2008 Nextel Cup Series season.
The move accelerates the integration of the new car into the series by one full year. In January 2006, NASCAR had announced a three-year roll-out schedule that would conclude with the new car running in every race by 2009.
As the new car began its initial phase-in program over the past several months, team owners expressed support of the new car and its full implementation by the 2008 season. Therefore, starting next year the new car will run the entire Cup schedule.
"We are proud of how the new car has performed at multiple tracks," said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR's vice president of competition. "NASCAR, with the support of team owners, agreed that the new car is ready to compete at all NASCAR Nextel Cup Series events in 2008. Beginning next year the Car of Tomorrow is officially 'the car,' a Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford and Toyota."
The original transition program had the new car running 16 races in 2007; 26 races in '08; and the entire schedule in '09. So far this season, the new car has run five times -- at Bristol, Martinsville, Phoenix, Richmond and Darlington.
The average margin of victory through the first five Car of Tomorrow races has been .505 seconds (compared to 1.286 seconds at these same races a year ago) and there have been six fewer DNFs through this same race sequence from 2006.
"As far as the racing, to me the COT puts things back into the driver's hands more," said Jeff Green, whose two top-10 finishes this year have been in COT races (Bristol and Phoenix). "With the cars we're using now, either you hit the setup or you miss it. If you miss it, there's not a lot a driver can do to make up for that. With the COT, even if the setup's not perfect, a driver can still make things happen and have a good run. It reminds me of the way the cars drove six or seven years ago. I like that, and I'm excited to get back to that.
"I think it does help level the playing field somewhat for the smaller teams. NASCAR is able to keep a tighter lid on some of the trick things teams can do, and I think that will benefit the teams that don't have the depth of resources some of the bigger teams have. I see it as a positive move all the way around."
Additionally, 13 teams have used the same chassis for three of the five races; four teams have run the same chassis in four of the five races; and one team -- the No. 29 Chevrolet -- has run the same chassis in all five COT races.
"I think we should run the COT the second-half of 2007," driver Kyle Petty said. "These are smart people in the NASCAR garage. There are smart crew members, smart crew chiefs and smart drivers. They can handle the COT. They can make this work.
"It's a great move by NASCAR. I think we've gotten into some headaches with it in the races that we have run, but we need to race it more and more. We need to learn it and get into a rhythm. This will obviously do that in 2008. You have to applaud NASCAR for making this move. I'm all for running this car as soon as possible every week.
But Jeff Gordon, winner of two COT races, is hesitant because the car has yet to race on a 1.5-mile track.
"Without being on a mile-and-a-half track, I don't see how we can just go completely forward with it," Gordon said. "I'm pretty optimistic about the way things are going right now. Obviously we're running good with it. But I still think there are things that need to evolve with this car that are not there yet."
The COT is the culmination of a seven-year project undertaken at NASCAR's Research and Development Center in Concord, N.C. The new car was built primarily with safety in mind, but during the development process, NASCAR also discovered ways in which the car could improve competition and enable teams to be more cost-efficient.
The design has also enabled manufacturers to have an increased product and branding opportunity. The manufacturers' 2007 COT models -- the Chevrolet Impala SS, Dodge Avenger, Ford Fusion and Toyota Camry -- more closely resemble production cars than the former race car did.
The Toyota teams have been the loudest proponents for going strictly to the COT because focusing on one program could alleviate many of the manufacturer's struggles. Toyota's teams have struggled to make races this season, the automaker's first in the series.
"It will help us tremendously because we're a startup organization and it would help us streamline our efforts," said Michael Waltrip, who is running a three-car team. "It will save everybody money. It will be more competitive going forward and I look forward to it being all-in right away."
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- NASCAR announced Tuesday that the Car of Tomorrow will be fully implemented for the 2008 Nextel Cup Series season.
The move accelerates the integration of the new car into the series by one full year. In January 2006, NASCAR had announced a three-year roll-out schedule that would conclude with the new car running in every race by 2009.
As the new car began its initial phase-in program over the past several months, team owners expressed support of the new car and its full implementation by the 2008 season. Therefore, starting next year the new car will run the entire Cup schedule.
"We are proud of how the new car has performed at multiple tracks," said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR's vice president of competition. "NASCAR, with the support of team owners, agreed that the new car is ready to compete at all NASCAR Nextel Cup Series events in 2008. Beginning next year the Car of Tomorrow is officially 'the car,' a Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford and Toyota."
The original transition program had the new car running 16 races in 2007; 26 races in '08; and the entire schedule in '09. So far this season, the new car has run five times -- at Bristol, Martinsville, Phoenix, Richmond and Darlington.
The average margin of victory through the first five Car of Tomorrow races has been .505 seconds (compared to 1.286 seconds at these same races a year ago) and there have been six fewer DNFs through this same race sequence from 2006.
"As far as the racing, to me the COT puts things back into the driver's hands more," said Jeff Green, whose two top-10 finishes this year have been in COT races (Bristol and Phoenix). "With the cars we're using now, either you hit the setup or you miss it. If you miss it, there's not a lot a driver can do to make up for that. With the COT, even if the setup's not perfect, a driver can still make things happen and have a good run. It reminds me of the way the cars drove six or seven years ago. I like that, and I'm excited to get back to that.
"I think it does help level the playing field somewhat for the smaller teams. NASCAR is able to keep a tighter lid on some of the trick things teams can do, and I think that will benefit the teams that don't have the depth of resources some of the bigger teams have. I see it as a positive move all the way around."
Additionally, 13 teams have used the same chassis for three of the five races; four teams have run the same chassis in four of the five races; and one team -- the No. 29 Chevrolet -- has run the same chassis in all five COT races.
"I think we should run the COT the second-half of 2007," driver Kyle Petty said. "These are smart people in the NASCAR garage. There are smart crew members, smart crew chiefs and smart drivers. They can handle the COT. They can make this work.
"It's a great move by NASCAR. I think we've gotten into some headaches with it in the races that we have run, but we need to race it more and more. We need to learn it and get into a rhythm. This will obviously do that in 2008. You have to applaud NASCAR for making this move. I'm all for running this car as soon as possible every week.
But Jeff Gordon, winner of two COT races, is hesitant because the car has yet to race on a 1.5-mile track.
"Without being on a mile-and-a-half track, I don't see how we can just go completely forward with it," Gordon said. "I'm pretty optimistic about the way things are going right now. Obviously we're running good with it. But I still think there are things that need to evolve with this car that are not there yet."
The COT is the culmination of a seven-year project undertaken at NASCAR's Research and Development Center in Concord, N.C. The new car was built primarily with safety in mind, but during the development process, NASCAR also discovered ways in which the car could improve competition and enable teams to be more cost-efficient.
The design has also enabled manufacturers to have an increased product and branding opportunity. The manufacturers' 2007 COT models -- the Chevrolet Impala SS, Dodge Avenger, Ford Fusion and Toyota Camry -- more closely resemble production cars than the former race car did.
The Toyota teams have been the loudest proponents for going strictly to the COT because focusing on one program could alleviate many of the manufacturer's struggles. Toyota's teams have struggled to make races this season, the automaker's first in the series.
"It will help us tremendously because we're a startup organization and it would help us streamline our efforts," said Michael Waltrip, who is running a three-car team. "It will save everybody money. It will be more competitive going forward and I look forward to it being all-in right away."