Car of Tomorrow

A Car of Tomorrow on display.

Car of Tomorrow is also the title of a 1951 film by Tex Avery.

The Car of Tomorrow, sometimes called CoT or "Car of Today", is the car style for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Larger and boxier than the design it replaced, the Car of Tomorrow is safer, costs less to maintain, and makes for closer competition.

The car was introduced in the 2007 Cup season at the Food City 500 on March 25 and ran a partial schedule of 16 races. The plan was to require all teams to use the new car in 2009, but NASCAR officials moved the date up to the 2008 season.

Design

On January 11, 2006, NASCAR announced the Car of Tomorrow after a seven-year design program sparked mainly by the death of Dale Earnhardt Sr. in a final-lap crash during the 2001 Daytona 500. The then-current cars were based on a design by Holman Moody first used for the 1966 Ford Fairlane. The primary design considerations were "safety innovations, performance and competition, and cost efficiency for teams."

The CoT has improved safety over the older car. The driver's seat has been moved four inches to the right, the roll cage has been shifted three inches to the rear, and the car is two inches taller and four inches wider. Larger crumple zones are built into the car on both sides. The splitter is a piece of fiber reinforced plastic (FRP, "fiberglass") used on the bottom front of the car to produce downforce, replacing the valence. The car's exhaust exits on the right side, which diverts heat from the driver. The fuel cell is stronger, and has a smaller capacity (17¾ gallons, down from 22 gallons, which as of 2007 has become standard in all cars).

A Car of Tomorrow body with Toyota Camry decals.

NASCAR officials say the car is less dependent on aerodynamics. It has a detached wing, which has not been used since the Dodge Charger Daytona and Plymouth Superbird in 1970. The windshield is more upright, which increases drag. The radiator air intake is below the front bumper of the car, which reduces overheating caused by clogged grilles. The front bumper is more box-like, which catches more air and slows the car. The front airdam is gapped, as opposed to being a flush piece on the older cars.

All cars are required to fit the same set of templates, using a device that has been named "the claw" that is designed to fit over the new cars. Yet there are still minor differences between the makes. In the first two races at Bristol and Martinsville Speedway, the garages were opened one day early and the inspections took up to 10 hours so that everyone (teams, officials, etc.) could get a better grip on the new unified template. NASCAR's old rules had a different set of templates for each manufacturer (Ford, Chevy, Dodge, and Toyota). NASCAR has frequently adjusted the rules to ensure that different car manufacturers have relatively equal cars.

Dimensions

This chart lists the CoT's dimensions compared with the dimensions of the cars represented.

Model	Length	Width	Height	Wheelbase	Weight*
NASCAR Monte Carlo	200.7in. (5098mm)	72.5in. (1842mm)	51in. (1295mm)	110in. (2794mm)	3400lbs (1542.2kg)
COT	206in. (5232mm)	78.5in. (1994mm)	53in. (1346mm)	110in. (2794mm)	3450lbs (1565kg)
Ford Fusion	190.6in. (4841mm)	72.2in. (1834mm)	56.9in. (1445mm)	107.4in. (2728mm)	3101lbs. (1406.6kg)
Chevy Impala SS	200.4in. (5090mm)	72.9in. (1852mm)	58.7in. (1491mm)	110.5in. (2807mm)	3711lbs. (1683.3kg)
Dodge Charger	200.1in. (5083mm)	74.4in. (1890mm)	58.2in.(1478mm)	120in. (3048mm)	3820lbs. (1732.7kg)
Toyota Camry	189.2in. (4806mm)	71.7in. (1821mm)	57.9in. (1471mm)	109.3in. (2776mm)	3263lbs. (1480kg)

*Weight displays the curb weight of the least expensive trim level available for model year 2008 unless otherwise specified.

Testing

The Car of Tomorrow was first tested in December 2005 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Next it tested at the 2.5 mile Daytona International Speedway, then on NASCAR's two shortest tracks, Bristol (0.533 mi) and Martinsville (0.526 mi.), the 1.5 mile Lowe's Motor Speedway, the 2.66 mile Talladega Superspeedway, and 2.0 mile Michigan International Speedway. Former NASCAR driver, current Sprint Cup pace car driver and Director of Cost Research Brett Bodine also tested the prototype car against cars prepared by current NASCAR teams.

Drivers have tested the CoT concurrently with the old car at some NASCAR tests and at special NASCAR-authorized tests. Some teams have tested the cars at the half-mile Greenville-Pickens Speedway, Caraway Speedway in Asheboro, NC, and the one mile North Carolina Speedway, none of which are Sprint Cup tracks, and therefore are tests which do not fall under NASCAR's restrictions.

Implementation

The Car of Tomorrow was first raced at the 2007 Food City 500 at Bristol, the season's fifth race. The tracks that saw the CoT twice in 2007 besides Bristol and Martinsville were Phoenix International Raceway, Richmond International Raceway, Dover International Speedway, and New Hampshire International Speedway. Other than Talladega (for the fall event), Darlington Raceway and the road course races at Infineon Raceway (Sonoma, Calif.) and Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International ran the CoT once each in 2007.

Original implementation plans called for the CoT to be used at 26 events in 2008, starting with both races at Daytona, including the season-opening Daytona 500 and related events (Budweiser Shootout and Gatorade Duels), the spring race at Talladega and Michigan, both races at California Speedway, Pocono Raceway and the event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Based on the success of the February 28th test at Bristol, NASCAR considered requiring CoT cars for the full schedule in 2008 in order to avoid applying two sets of rules (as supported by a survey of NASCAR owners, with 80% favoring the switch), adding all three events (including the all-star event) at Lowe's Motor Speedway, as well as both races at Atlanta and Texas Motor Speedway, and single races at Chicagoland Speedway, Kansas Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway one year earlier than scheduled. This was confirmed on Tuesday, May 22, 2007 by NASCAR. Had NASCAR continued with the original schedule of implication, the other tracks would have been added in 2009.

Debut

On March 25, 2007, the CoT debuted in its first NASCAR-sanctioned race. Kyle Busch won the race, the first win by a Chevrolet Impala since 1963.

Reactions to the CoT's performance were mixed. Dale Earnhardt, Jr., after finishing 7th, said, "It wasn't a disaster like everybody anticipated. It worked out, I reckon. Racing was about the same." Drivers were also impressed with the car's ability to bump other competitors without causing a spin (bumper heights were equalized due to street car development, and nose-to-rear bumper contact caused spins that pre-1988 cars would not cause), and NASCAR officials were pleased with the improvements in safety.

Profile view of CoT at Daytona International Speedway

Several drivers and pundits expressed distaste for the car and what they perceived as a less exciting style of racing created by it. Kyle Busch, despite winning at Bristol, commented that "they suck" during his victory lane interview. Retired driver and TV analyst Rusty Wallace stated on ESPN that the car created a boring, single-file racing environment with little of the passing, action, or crashing that has made NASCAR popular, though after NASCAR announced the COT would run the full schedule, he stated that it was "one of the best decisions NASCAR had ever made." Drivers who placed well at Bristol, Jeff Gordon and Jeff Burton, claimed that the car allowed the use of a second passing lane not usually present at Bristol. For the most part, however, the racing was strung out and single-file with drivers tentative in trying to make passes.

A major problem with the car's initial race was its front splitter. The splitter is a piece of fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) used on the bottom front of the car to produce downforce. It replaces the valence. One car's splitter running into the tire of another car beside it sometimes punctured the second car's tire. There were no problems with the splitter causing tire failure at the car's second race.

Another major problem has been that the foam used in the side of the car has caught fire, causing smoke in the cockpit. Kevin Harvick experienced this problem at the first CoT race at Martinsville costing him a good finish or possibly a win, and NASCAR decided to make modifications before the April 21 Subway Fresh Fit 500 in Avondale, Arizona.

Another problem with the foam was that when the side door was ripped open, as Brian Vickers experienced at Watkins Glen, the foam would spill out, making a mess.

During the 2007 UAW-Ford 500, the CoT's first debut on a superspeedway track at Talladega, NASCAR assigned a 31/32 inch (24.6 mm) restrictor plate to allow the engines to run at around 8,800 RPMs due to the less aerodynamic design of the CoT. The previous generation car's engine would normally run around 7,000 RPMs with a ⅞ inch (22.2 mm) plate. This was the most open restrictor plate to race at Talladega since 1988.

Car models

Front view of Chevrolet Impala badged CoT at Infineon Raceway

Chevrolet teams continued to use the Monte Carlo SS name on the old style car while using the Impala SS name on the CoT. Chevrolet discontinued the Monte Carlo model after 2007 and switched full time to the Impala nameplate starting in 2008. Dodge teams used the Charger name on the old car while using the Avenger name on the CoT; however, for 2008 the Charger name was used on the CoT. Ford used the Fusion while Toyota used the Camry, respectively, for both their old and CoT cars.

Criticisms

Criticisms of the CoT began with its first tests, with the magazine Speedway Illustrated noting the car's poor performance in traffic (February 2006 issue). The Winston-Salem Journal also noted extensive criticism of the project during 2006 testing, with drivers becoming more vocal by July 2007 and most fans rejecting the model, citing the falsity of many of its technical claims; one angle of criticism was the differing philosophies of NASCAR officials Gary Nelson and John Darby, with Darby a particularly ardent supporter of the CoT based on a misreading of the sport's competition packages. Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth were pointedly critical of the car's poor performance in traffic, with Gordon stating after the 2007 Lenox Industrial Tools 300, "I'd like to know who it was who said this car would reduce the aero push because I could have told you from when I first drove this car that it would be worse." Kyle Busch, who won the very first race with the car at Bristol in 2007, proclaimed that the car "sucks" afterward and expanded on this criticism at Dover in 2008 in noting how the Car Of Tomorrow was "hitting a wall of air" in the wake of a leading car, thus neutralizing ability to close up on leaders.

On April 4th, 2008, while in a qualifying run for the Samsung 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, Michael McDowell struck the wall outsuide of Turn 1 at 165 MPH, and proceeded to barrel-roll eight times as fire came from the engine compartment. McDowell emerged from the Toyota unharmed, and as a result, much of the criticism of this car came to an end due to the enhanced safety. The impact of the crash was almost ten miles an hour more than Dale Earnhardt's fatal accident.

In the 2008 Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, the longest run under green flag conditions was 12 laps due to extreme wear of right-side tires, especially the right rear. The Car of Tomorrow, in its first use at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, did not create any improvement of the conditions on the track, which is well known for its rough surface. The lack of downforce on the car and its higher center of gravity created conditions that made it very hard on the right side tires. During the race, the tires used on the cars generally lasted no more than 10 laps at a time.

On April 26th, 2009, during the climax of the 2009 Aaron's 499 at Talladega, Carl Edwards became airborne, destroying most of the car after it flew roof-first into the catchfence. Edwards was uninjured, and in a homage to the movie Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, ran across the start finish line on foot to finish the race [officially, he completed 187 of 188 laps]. The crash appeared similar to the accident Bobby Allison in 1987 where his car became airborne and hit the catchfence in a similar location. Allison's crash tore down the mesh and support poles in the catchfence, while Edwards' crash only bent the support poles. Seven spectators were injured in Edwards' accident by debris. The aftermath of the accident spawned questions about the aerodynamic features of the CoT, the nature of pack racing with restrictor plates, and the safety features of Talladega Superspeedway. Video replay reveals that after the spin, the car's aerodynamic devices did function successfully once the car became airborne and almost landed on the track safely, but a second hit from Ryan Newman caused the car to accelerate while still airborne.

References

• "Car of Tomorrow on track for Bristol debut", written February 1 2007, nascar.com, Retrieved March 16 2007
• NASCAR.com article, includes photographs
• NASCAR.com article on the first test at Daytona
• 2000 article about a UniTemplate car
• Benefits of Car of Tomorrow
• Newton, David. "[1] "One race in, Car of Tomorrow does its job well." ESPN.com, 2007-03-25. Retrieved March 26, 2007.

External links

• Dale Jr. Chevy/Car Of Tomorrow Ad
• New Chevrolet Car of Tomorrow pictures with Impala SS front end