The car of tomorrow (COT) will soon be the car of today. Actually, it will be the car of tonight as NASCAR races under the lights at Phoenix. The race at Phoenix will only be the third points race for the COT, and tonight's race is also going to be the biggest test so far for the car of tomorrow. The track at Phoenix has a different design than the two tracks the COT has ran on so far this year (Bristol & Martinsville). I have heard many critics complain about the car of tomorrow. They may say it does not handle well, it's not aerodynamic, it's not as fast and so on. The majority of the critics are the drivers themselves. To them I say, “Quit whining, and drive the stupid car!” If Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty only won races when their car was handling well, neither of them would have won a championship. The car of tomorrow is truly a “throwback” car disguised with a futuristic look. Maybe the car is harder to drive because it is larger and cumbersome. Maybe it is heavier. That never stopped Darrell Waltrip and Benny Parsons from winning races. These drivers were true ”drivers” in every sense of the word. They were winning races when aerodynamics was virtually undiscovered, sheet metal was inferior and teammates did not exist. The COT is separating true ”drivers” from impostors who have posed as drivers in recent years. With the car of tomorrow, NASCAR is taking a step forward by taking a step back, and I love it! NASCAR was dangerously close to becoming more about engineers and designers than it was drivers and competition. I've been watching NASCAR since 1991, and for the first time in years, the car of tomorrow has allowed me to watch true drivers win races. I am a diehard NASCAR fan, but even I was getting sick and tired of waiting all week for the race to start just to see a gigantic pile up on lap one that was caused because of aero-push. ”Aero-push” should not be in NASCAR's dictionary! Aerodynamics was not only making it impossible for cars to simply touch each other, but it was also making it dangerous to get within 4 ft. of another car. How can you have true competitive races when drivers are scared to get anywhere near another car? The car of tomorrow has basically, from what I've seen anyway, gotten rid of aerodynamics in racing (a good thing). It is no longer about what car is fastest, or what car is most aerodynamic. Once again, finally, it is about who is the better driver! Now that the car of tomorrow is actually here, some thought has been given to what the car should be called. I propose the name “Durocrate.” “Duro” because the car is surprisingly durable. Cars have not been tearing apart like tissue paper because of the slightest contact from another car. Less sheet metal, more carbon fiber and safer role cage has created this change. “Crate” because the car is shaped like a shipping crate. What does a shipping crate do? A shipping crate keeps whatever's inside it safe as it travels from one place to another. This is what the car of tomorrow does. It is a durable car that allows a safer environment to be wrapped around the driver as they travel from the start of the race to the finish. I would much rather watch 43 cars go 10 mph slower, and have 39 of those cars finish the race after major contact than I would to watch 43 cars go 10 mph faster and only have 15 cars finish the race because they got tapped and their car tore apart as if a tornado landed directly on it! I have watched the car tomorrow go hard, nose first, into the wall and other cars just to backup and finish the race. The car of tomorrow may finish with half a wing, and the splitter may need shaped somewhat to avoid breaking off other driver's valve stems during the race; but, at least the car finishes the race and allows the best drivers to win. That is what NASCAR is all about!
Muncy...I agree with this! It does seem that for the last 10 yrs, NASCAR was so focused on the engineering and designs, that even a caveman could drive them.
I yearn for the days of Petty v. Yarborough, where the car wasn't the deciding factor...it was the driver.
I hope you're right about COT. I think the drivers are just complaining because it's different. Don't we all do that when confronted with change?
Good job on the post, and nice to see you pumping out the blogs! :)
lise
Thank you for the complement... I think the new car will definitely help once they go full-time next year. And you are right about change. I think they will quit complaining was the transition period is over. Until then, watch out for drivers like Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, Jeff Burton, Bobby Labonte, and so on. The car of tomorrow is one to help drivers of yesterday.
Hey there muncy. I was reading your blog and bio and even though I came close to your condition, the one thing you escaped from I didn't. Pain in the lower back. I wwould like to think though that I have a very good outlook on life, although there are some here who would like to tear you down. Don't let them. Your blog was a good read. I'm sure to check back dailey to see whast you have written.
My Dad was born in Charleston, but after High School, me Dadwent to our Uncles and Aunts game
hunting service in the Cheat Mountains. I,ve never been there before. He tells of water so clear and the smallmouth and trout streams. Sounds good to me. All I know is the New River and white water rafting.
You are so inspirational. My younger brother was being recruited in basketball by two colleges in his Junior year in High School before we lost him in a traffic accident. Another member of our High School team who was older than me was also injured in an accident and was left in a chair without his mental faculties intact. So while you were unlucky, you could be considered lucky as well.
Right now I am suffering from serious depression. Just by being here you are an inspiration to me to try to get off my ####.
This is a good blog, but I am much more impressed with you as the author.
My main thought on the COT your blog brings forth is that I hope they will keep an eye on current models and keep the car looking like a stock car. I would like to see them morph the four brands together, then expand them as needed for safety and make them bigger if they need to but try to keep the scale intact as much as possible. That way they would still look right all on the track together from the stands where the sense of size would get lost anyway.
I look forward to reading more from you.
Cheers!
Last edited by 14Falcons on April 21st at 12:39 PM.
lmuncy ......... The Car Of Tomorrow is just a piece of generic #### that NASCAR is using as selling device. Tell me really what there is to appreciate about this new supposed concept ? Toyota didn't enter into NASCAR just for the fun of it as they're looking to make money and not just appear as an afterthought to the public who in effect are afterall the customers.
Never mind any of the critics you might attract on this. You hit the nail on the head. On Target. Well put and all that other stuff.You can certainly present a good point convincingly.
I have been a die hard opponent of the COT but after seeing two races with two different types of cars, I was left wondering what the COT will be like at a faster track. Texas seemed ike a wreck fest with the older car.
Sadly I missed the Phoenix race so I can't say or state an opinion on that race. Did they run the COT there?? Got to get my head checked out again. Keep forgetting things since the bump on my head at Daytona.
OK, we finally have a disagreement. Apparently, you know martial arts and football... not NASCAR!!! The car of tomorrow is not ####. Now, you may be right behind NASCAR's motive for creating the car, but I don't care. I don't care why it's here. I'm just glad it is! Cars went 4 wide last night -- at Phoenix!!! They went 3 wide three additional times -- at Phoenix!!! You can usually go no more than 2 wide at Phoenix, and they were able to do it because the air now travels under and through the car instead of over and around it!!!
Last edited by lmuncy316 on April 22nd at 7:25 AM.
Your blog has really opened my eyes. I have been against the CoT ever since it had been introduced. After seeing it raced this season my opinion of it is slowing changing, especially after reading a blog such as this. You make some very good points, and I have to say that I don’t really disagree with you on anything. The only problem that I have with the CoT is that, in my opinion, the CoT takes away from “Racing.” Not necessarily on the race track, but back at the shops. I have been racing for the last 11 years, and every year that I have raced there are always teams with a “better car.” That’s just race’n! I don’t like the fact that the CoT takes away from some of the competitive advantage that can be found at the race shops. One of the things that makes NASCAR so great is the fact that it is such a team effort. In my opinion, the CoT takes away from some of the things that the team could do to help win the race on Sunday.
Part of the reason that NASCAR introduced the CoT was to give the less funded teams a better chance to win. Although it is a great idea, you will always have teams that are better or have more funding. No matter what NASCAR does, they are always going to have teams like Hendrick Motorsports and Roush/Fenway Racing that are going to be dominant. I love the idea of the CoT and the fact that is safer for the drivers, but I am still not convinced of it yet!
Thanks,
Lugnut30
Last edited by lugnut30 on November 18th at 10:36 AM.
Well, some time has definitely passed since this blog was posted. Two races have been had at Phoenix under very different conditions. April race -- rained lightly prior to the races, track was plenty dry in time for the race that starts at night in April. I was there & didn't see a lot of 4 wide action (went a couple of hot laps around the track prior to race & it's not that accomodating) but was an enjoyable race overall.
November race -- rained prior to the race all weekend. Day race. Both Busch & Cup were wreckfests. Was out of country, so watched Talledega on DVR -- forwarded most of the way through it -- not necessarily looking for wrecks, but looking for passing, nose to nose racing, mid-pack starters not afraid to make a pass -- looking for a little more edge-of-your-seat racing, I guess.
As far as engineering -- that's what it's been about since day one -- someone is always behind the garage door, working on that car, whether it was the driver himself, his buddies, or an official team. I came from a racing (boats) family & technology has been around since the day engines started driving us around -- it perhaps just wasn't referred to as technology, but truly, without it, we wouldn't even be at this stage of the game. It IS about teamwork -- I can attest to that just from watching 'em work.
And if it's so easy a caveman can drive 'em, then why haven't Kyle Petty, Dale Jarret, Bobby Labonte, Michael Waltrip et al done better in them?
It will indeed be interesting to see what it brings with the full schedule this year. Seems to me there is no happy me
I was paralyzed in an automobile accident on 2/13/91, only a few weeks after I had 33 rebounds in one basketball game! My sports career was cut short, but my life wasn't. Although, I no longer have a need to be 6'7". I'm now a 31-year-old, C5, quadriplegic. I am from West Virginia and love Marshall University. I'm a sports enthusiast, and blogging gives me something to do when I'm jones'n for competition. I would love to become a freelance sports writer. I guess my quest begins here. I invite you to follow along. Read my blog, and tell me what you think.
