NASCAR calls its car of the future the Car of Tomorrow.

The Car of Tomorrow (CoT) is a seven year project by NASCAR to develop a safer, more competitive, cost effective race car. The Car of Tomorrow has been used in 16 NASCAR Nextel Cup events in 2007 beginning with the March 25th race at Bristol. The Car of Tomorrow is scheduled to be used for all 36 NASCAR Nextel Cup races in 2008.

Safety is the main benefit of these cars. They are bigger and therefore slower than the older cars. The roll cage is 2 inches taller and 4 inches wider. It has also been moved rearward 3 inches.

The left side has been modified to provide for more driver safety. The left side door bars are covered with steel plate, and door bars are configured for impact attenuation. There is now a double left-side frame rail. The driver's seat has moved 4 inches to the right. Left-side suspension has been moved left 1 inch.

The bumper height is the same in the front, rear and one the sides. This is meant to reduce or prevent spin-outs when tapped by other cars.

The Car of Tomorrow offers greater fire protection by carrying less fuel on board (17.5 gallons instead of 22 gallons) and a stronger fuel tank.

These cars are media friendly. They are equipped with enhanced TV camera locations. Camera pods are mounted on all cars for a roof camera and side-mounted cameras. There are other possible camera locations as well.

The Car of Tomorrow offers cost reductions to car owners. These cars should be quicker, easier, and cheaper to build. Each owner needs fewer cars in their inventory. They are designed to match the 2007 street cars more closely. The headlights match the production vehicles which makes them less aerodynamic. The windshields have the more upright angle of the street vehicles.

Racing teams have had a tougher time this year because of the two different types of car being used. Each team is learning the best way to make these cars work. Hendricks Motorsports worked to configure the new Car of Tomorrow at the beginning of the season. Hendricks won the first 5 CoT events and won 8 of the first 15. The other teams put more effort into fine tuning the set up of the new cars when it was announced that the Car of Tomorrow would be used in all Nextel events next year.

The Car of Tomorrow will make next year's Nextel Cup race interesting, even if the track speeds will be reduced.

Learn more about this author, Lynn Jordan.
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