Big changes coming to Nascar

[ALS]

Since the drivers all hate the car of tomorrow, Nascar is going back to their original roots of true American Stock Car Racing. They have announced the introduction of the Car of Yesterday.

The Car of Yesterday

 

[SLM]

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People want to see us racing the cars they drive every day, and anyone who's seen the parking lot at a NASCAR race will tell you that's what the Car of Yesterday gives them."

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thats pretty rough

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Our primary concern with the Car of Yesterday was safety. The fans hate...We had to keep that in mind when we went back to the drawing board, so we took away anything that increased grip, improved handling, or prevented a stock car from experiencing a sudden and total loss of control

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[Blue_Goose]

lol good find....those crazy guys


Goose

 

[Drew99GT]

I'm Nascar fan, I'll admit it, but man, lately it's sucking. WAY too many mystery cautions for debris no one has ever seen, and the car of tomorrow looks worse than many riced out Civics I've seen.

The Onion article is priceless!

 

[buster]

BORING!

 

[Drew99GT]

I can't sit and watch an entire race, but I usually tune in for the last 50 or so laps.

 

[Brett Miller]

I lost most of my interest in Nascar when they changed the point system. The "Car of Tomorrow" is the final nail in the coffin.

Besides, real race cars don't have doors and run on dirt.

 

[Carbonics]

I don't follow the sport too closely, someone tell me what exactly the car of tomorrow is?

 

[Jaybird]

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Besides, real race cars don't have doors and run on dirt.

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LOL...right on, Brett!

 

[Lonnie]

Is NASCAR beginning to look like the Mother Goose Parade with advertising?

 

[bretfraz]

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I don't follow the sport too closely, someone tell me what exactly the car of tomorrow is?

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Here is some info on the CoT:

SAFETY FIRST – From the very beginning, improving driver safety was the No. 1 goal of the Car of Tomorrow. Safety improvements include:
Double-frame rail on driver’s side with steel plating covering the door bars;
Energy absorbing materials installed between the roll cage door bars and door panels;
Enlarged cockpit – the driver is moved closer to the center of the car and the roof is 2½ inches higher.
ADJUSTABILITY – The Car of Tomorrow features two adjustable aerodynamic pieces – a rear wing and front air dam splitter – that provide teams with flexibility in making adjustments at the race track.
The rear wing:
Provides better balance and control in traffic. It replaces the rear spoiler;
Helps reduce turbulent air behind the car;
Adjusts between 0-16 degrees, enabling teams to change rear downforce to suit drivers and tracks;
Provides various combinations and adjustments to sideforce-generating end plates and flat end plates that allow for further at-track adjustments.
The front air dam splitter:
Can be adjusted fore and aft from four to six inches to impact the car’s downforce and aerodynamic balance;
Provides teams with another element to achieve the aerodynamic balance that their setup, driver or the track’s changing conditions might dictate;
Allows teams to tune the front downforce to suit drivers and tracks.
COST EFFICIENCY – By using a more refined body and chassis measurement process, the need for track-specific car configurations is reduced. NASCAR has provided teams with a “blueprint” to build chassis and bodies, giving teams the opportunity to reduce the amount of time necessary to fabricate cars.
BRAND IDENTITY – As a result of NASCAR working with the four manufacturers, the Car of Tomorrow features an enhanced opportunity for the manufacturers to retain many of the characteristics of their production cars such as the front nose, grill, hood, window panels and headlights for the Chevrolet Impala SS, Dodge Avenger, Ford Fusion and Toyota Camry.

Car Of Tomorrow, Etc.
In order for all drivers to benefit from the safety measures that the Car of Tomorrow offers, it was necessary for the chassis to be consistent. NASCAR provided all teams with a “blueprint” to follow when building their Car of Tomorrow chassis. With the standardization of the chassis, NASCAR also implemented a new chassis certification process at its Research & Development Center in Concord, N.C., that inspects more than 220 measuring points. Once the chassis is certified, NASCAR affixes nine Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chips to the chassis to document that it has met all specifications and is ready for the race track. There also are some new inspection procedures at the track. The Car of Tomorrow template inspection is consolidated into one unit – the main inspection grid. Supported by an aluminum frame, the grid features a motorized, maneuverable device that is lowered on to a race car. It can measure multiple templates at the same time and then can be re-configured to measure other templates. The rear wing is a NASCAR-issued part that teams will receive when they arrive at the race track each week. The teams are not charged for the wings. If a wing becomes damaged beyond repair during competition, NASCAR will furnish the team with another wing. The teams are responsible for their own front air dam splitters.

Pics of the CoT: http://www.jayski.com/schemes/2006/COT.htm

 

[Panzerman]

I hate the new cars , its like watching Fat indy cars.

 

[Don Stefanik]

I like the change.

 

[Master ACiD]

its all marketing blaster.
notice they say improving safet is the #1 goal, well if that was true they would close nascar down, or restrict them to 15mph.

in reality, cot is about ticket sales, thats what everything is about.

 

[RacerE7773]

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Is NASCAR beginning to look like the Mother Goose Parade with advertising?

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Beginning?

 

[Francis]

INDY raing was cool when they ran V8's.

 

[dailydriver]

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INDY raing was cool when they ran V8's.

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Both Indy Car and C.A.R.T. still do run V8s, as well as F1 now.

 

[Laminar Lou]

I'm not a Nascar fan, but if something like this actually happened I would watch it.

Heck, they should do something like that just for fun at the end of the season - like the Pro Bowl in the NFL.

Maybe the Onion is on to something here...

 

[NovaMan]

Heck yeah! I think I could be a fan again if they did that.

Technological innovation is good, but current stock cars are so not stock it's just ridiculous. I'm not anti-safety, but NASCAR has strayed so far from it's roots that they really ought to change the name. Unfortunately, if they put the stock back in stock car racing, it'd be like watching WRC on paved ovals. I wouldn't want to watch that, and I bet few others would.

 

[dailydriver]

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Unfortunately, if they put the stock back in stock car racing, it'd be like watching WRC on paved ovals. I wouldn't want to watch that, and I bet few others would.

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Actually, I kind of like watching "tarmac" WRC rallies, as long as they are REALLY twisty (a la Corsica) or EXTREMELY high speed (such as the Manx Rally on the Isle Of Man in Emgland). Or best of all fast, on totally unpredictable surfaces/weather in the high Alps (Monte Carlo).