by Jonathan Clayton

Created on: March 27, 2008   Last Updated: November 24, 2008

Nascar:Car Of Tomorrow.

The COT car.The car of tomorrow,is now OFFICALLY the car of today! I think Nascar had the right idea about increasing the safety for the drivers when they introduced the COT,but I also think that they rushed the concept on all the race teams.

Speaking from the perspective of a long-term Nascar fan,the COT has plus's and minus's.

Is it safer?Without a doubt!Has it made for better races for the fans?For the most part,yes.

Are the drivers happy with the change?Absolutely not!Talk to just about any driver in the garage,and you will get just about the same responses.Less downforce.Harder to drive.Extremely hard to find the right setup for the larger tracks,such as Talledega and Indianapolis in the Sprint cup series.

Now,speaking strictly as a fan,the cars are UGLY! but I have to say that they remind me of the race cars of the 80's.which put much more emphasis on the driver.This,I'm very thankful for

because the really GREAT drivers will come to the top,regardless of the cars they are driving.

Now,with all this being said,the real reason the Nascar hiearchy wanted this car implemented so quickly was that it was SUPPOSED to even the playing field,for large and small teams alike.Not hardly! Just in doing they're standard research and developement,it has cost MILLIONS! So the edge will STILL go to the teams with the deepest pockets.Such as Rausch-Fenway,Richard Childress Racing and Hendrick Motor Sports.So,not a whole lot has changed.The day of the one or two car teams has unfortunately come to an end.Which,bythe way,is a total shame considering thats how Nascar started in the first place!

On a personal note,I could only wish that the COT car had been in use when Dale Earnhardt Sr. crashed at Indianapolis.It would have TRULY saved his life but, I digress.

I personally was never in favor of the COT,but now that it's here to stay,the engineers just have to make the best of a bad situation.I have absolutely no doubt that given time,maybe by next season,we will back to Nascar Racing as it is MEANT to be.All out.At 200mph!

COT or not,I STILL look forward to each and every race weekend,with the same thrill and expectation as I had twenty years ago!

Learn more about this author, Jonathan Clayton.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.