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In forcing cars to race closer together, the Car of Today has placed a premium on driver skill over tecnical know-how. Matthew T. Thacker/ASP Inc/Icon |
By Mark Zeske
NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow (and now Today) is an overwhelming success, having turned 2008 into the most competitive season of Sprint Cup racing in years.
By almost any measuring stick, the CoT is working. There have been more green-flag passes this season than last year, and more different drivers leading laps. In 21 CoT races held over the past two seasons, 12 have been decided by less than a second. The first three races of '08 (before Carl Edwards was penalized 100 points) created the same number of different points leaders as the first 26 races of '07. In '08's first five races, four makes of cars posted victories.
A lack of downforce has made the cars less effective, putting a greater emphasis on a driver's skills. That's a throwback and a great change, one that should appeal to any fan who once cheered for the late, great Dale Earnhardt.
Drivers are being forced to make adjustments in their driving, while crew chiefs are having less of an impact. There's more side-by-side racing in the middle or back of the pack -- something that really hasn't existed this millennium in NASCAR. And being a lap down isn't the automatic kiss of doom that it once was.
While the CoT is so much more safer than its previous version -- NASCAR's top priority -- it hasn't eliminated wrecks. In fact, wrecks at each race in '08 have eliminated top contenders, making for even more competitive finishes.
Is the Car of Tomorrow an absolute success? Absolutely not.
Primarily, NASCAR has sacrificed quality for parity. One of NASCAR's biggest goals was to make the cost of fielding a team cheaper, and that hasn't happened yet. In addition, the CoT simply looks ugly. It just doesn't sparkle like a sleek and speedy racer (perhaps because it is not).
Yet that the lack of downforce is what makes the cars more equal, makes the events more competitive and creates great racing for the fans. It is what makes the Car of Today an amazing success and one of NASCAR's best moves in a long time.
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The Car of Today may be a safer ride, but is it not as nimble a one as drivers have had in previous years. Todd Warshaw/Getty Images for NASCAR |
By Tom Bowles
The Car of Tomorrow celebrated its one-year anniversary at Bristol last weekend. Not surprisingly, you didn't see a grand celebration. Working hard for acceptance from fans, drivers, and crews, the new car is still struggling to live up to expectations.
What's the hang-up? The biggest issue is still handling. Complaints from rookies and veterans alike surround the vehicle's inability to turn through the center of the corners. Additionally, the dreaded "aero push" the next generation of car was supposed to eliminate is still just as bad, if not worse than before. If cars are in the lead, it's clear sailing, while even the fastest cars caught in traffic behave completely different. Also, the dreaded "bump stops" keep the new front end splitters from dragging the ground, but send a shock wave through the car whenever they touch asphalt; in an instant, drivers find themselves on the edge of control.
Crews would love to fix that, but a lack of adjustability has left them with little options for change. The CoT template provides a common starting point for teams, but the rules are so strict there's little room for experimentation. There's a small box to work from, leaving crew chiefs to turn to bizarre front end setups to make minimal differences.
They're also playing a dangerous game with tire pressures; as much as you'd like to blame Goodyear for poor racing at tracks like Atlanta, "better safe than sorry" wouldn't be their motto if teams weren't stretching the limit with their compounds.
And in an odd twist, it's almost as if these cars have become too good. 42 of 43 cars finished the race at Bristol last weekend, an unprecedented display of strength for a track that usually sends cars to the junkyard. Removing risk has reduced unpredictability, but isn't unpredictability why we watch the race?
The CoT has gotten better; and no question, the safety elements it provides are unmatched. But cautious and entertaining are not always synonymous in racing. Hopefully, in the next year NASCAR can improve the competition aspect of the car without compromising the progress they've made on safety.
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