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decals.]] The Car of Tomorrow (COT) is a new car style for NASCAR 's NEXTEL Cup Series that was first implemented in the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway on March 25, 2007. So far ten races have been run using the Car of Tomorrow. Hendrick Motorsports has shown great success with the COT, winning the first five races run with the new car. Joe Gibbs Racing has two wins, and Dale Earnhardt Inc. also has a COT victory, meaning Chevrolet has won all but two of the races run so far with the new car, the others being the Dodge of Juan Pablo Montoya and the Ford of Carl Edwards . It has been announced that the COT will be run full time for the 2008 Season after a partial schedule in 2007 . DESIGN On at the Motorsports Hall Of Fame Of America ; Retrieved March 8 2007 The primary design considerations were "safety innovations, performance and competition, and cost efficiency for teams." http://www.nascar.com/2006/news/headlines/cup/04/04/cot_martinsville/index.html 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. In the first two races at Bristol and Martinsville, the garages were opened one day early and the inspections took up to ten 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. The universal body of the Car of Tomorrow will eliminate these problems, but could cause many more unforeseen problems. The car is advertised as reducing dependence on aerodynamics. It features a detached wing, which has not been used since the Dodge Charger Daytona and Plymouth Superbird in 1970. http://www.truckseries.com/cgi-script/NCTS_06/articles/000061/006135.htm 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 grills. 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. The COT has improved safety features over the current 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. More "crush-ability" is built into the car on both sides, ensuring even more protection. The splitter is a piece of fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) used on the bottom front of the car to produce downforce, replacing the valence. The car's exhaust runs through the body, and exits on the right side, which diverts heat away 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). 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 , on NASCAR's two shortest tracks, Bristol (0.533 mi) and Martinsville Speedway (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 NEXTEL Cup pace car driver and Director of Cost Research Brett Bodine has tested the prototype car against cars prepared by current NASCAR teams. Drivers have tested the COT concurrently with the present 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 NEXTEL Cup tracks, and therefore are tests which do not fall under NASCAR's restrictions. SCHEDULE The Car of Tomorrow was first raced at the 2007 Food City 500 at Bristol, the season's fifth race. The tracks that are seeing the CoT twice in 2007 besides Bristol and Martinsville are 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 and Watkins Glen International each 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. It was officially announced on Tuesday, May 22, 2007 by NASCAR that the Car of Tomorrow will be used full time in all Sprint Cup races starting with the 2008 season, one year earlier than originally planned. Car of Tomorrow Full Time In 2008 Had NASCAR continued with the original schedule of implication, the other tracks would have been added in 2009. DEBUT On March 25, 2007, the Car of Tomorrow debuted in its first NASCAR 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." {Link without Title} Drivers were also impressed with the car's ability to bump other competitors without causing a spin (as bumper heights were equalized; as street car development continued, nose-to-rear bumper contact caused spins that pre-1988 cars would not cause), and NASCAR officials were pleased with the improvements in safety. 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 it "sucks" 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. ESPN article 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 reduce speed therefore making it safer for the driver. It replaces the valence. One car's splitter running into the tire of another car beside it sometimes punctured the second car's tire. 2 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. This causes 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 . 3 CAR MODELS Chevrolet teams continue to use the Monte Carlo SS with their current cars while using the Impala SS with the Car of Tomorrow. Chevrolet is discontinuing the Monte Carlo brand and will switch full time to the Impala after 2007. Dodge teams use the Charger with the current car while using the Avenger with the Car of Tomorrow. Ford and Toyota use the Fusion and Camry , respectively, for both their current cars 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 and Matt Kenseth were pointedly critical of the car's poor performance in traffic, with Gordon stating after a July 2007 race at New Hampshire International Speedway , "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." Plenty Of Subplots At New Hampshire Some crew chiefs wore a T-shirt sporting a logo ripping the Car of Tomorrow during 2006 testing. REFERENCES
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