Rusty Wallace is scheduled to test the Car of Tomorrow at Martinsville following next week's race. Credit: Autostock

Car of Tomorrow rules coming next week

Wallace will miss Bristol test, but re-scheduled for Martinsville

The first rulebook for the Car of Tomorrow is expected to be in teams' hands next week, said NASCAR's director of cost research Brett Bodine, who's been NASCAR's lead test driver for the project.

The nose of the CoT is dramatically different. Credit: Dave Rodman/NASCAR.COM

LEGENDS FAVOR COT The men who dominated NASCAR in its heyday bemoan the lack of passing generated by bullet-shaped cars, and they think the Car of Tomorrow is a step in the right direction.  •   Complete story, click here COT FOR 2007 NASCAR announced that the Car of Tomorrow will begin competition in 2007. Teams will use the new racecar for 16 events next season, beginning with the spring race at Bristol.  •   Complete story, click here DAYTONA TEST NASCAR made a giant step toward a hoped-for "universal car" for use in the Cup Series when Brett Bodine tested the latest Car of Tomorrow prototype at Daytona on Jan. 12.  •   Complete story, click here ATLANTA TEST At Atlanta last fall, Petty Enterprises, Richard Childress Racing, Roush Racing, Hendrick Motorsports and Dale Earnhardt Incorporated tested versions of the Car of Tomorrow.   •   Complete story, click here Look into the futureCNN's Sanjay Gupta looks at NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

"We're real close to the final version of the car -- we're down to aerodynamic tuning," Bodine said. "All of the other chassis dimensions are set and the rulebook will be out the first part of next week."

The Car of Tomorrow is scheduled to be phased into full use in the Nextel Cup Series over the next three seasons.

The car will be used for 16 races next season, mostly on road courses and short tracks -- which for 2007 NASCAR designates as tracks under 1.366 miles in length. The fall superspeedway event at Talladega will also be included in the schedule.

NASCAR president Mike Helton asked Rusty Wallace, the 1989 Cup Series champion who retired at the end of last season, to test the prototype at Bristol following this weekend's events, the fifth test and the first on a short track this season.

"I was asked to do the test, but I'll be at a big production meeting up in Bristol, Conn., with Marty [Reid] and Scott [Goodyear] and the rest of the ESPN guys, so I passed on it," said Wallace, who will not be at Bristol for the first time in 23 years due to his new position as an analyst on the ABC/ESPN broadcasts of the Indy Racing League, which opens this weekend in Homestead, Fla.

"But what I am going to do is probably drive the Car of Tomorrow at Martinsville. I do want to drive the car just to feel it. I want to understand what it's all about, and if I can make some comments about how they can make their car better or different, I'd be happy to tell them."

Bristol's 2007 spring race is scheduled as the first official event for the Car of Tomorrow.

"Let's face it, 365 days from [Friday], the Car of Tomorrow will be checking in at Bristol, and that's not penciled in -- it's written in ink," Bodine said. "And I think the reality of that is going to get more people going [with car building]."

Along with NASCAR's Dodge-powered Car of Tomorrow, other cars expected to test Monday at Bristol include those fielded by Richard Childress Racing, Roush Racing and Chip Ganassi Racing, Bodine confirmed.

He added that several other current drivers had been invited to come and test NASCAR's prototype.

"We feel very strongly that it's important to get current drivers in the car," said Bodine, whose last season as a Cup driver was 2003. "It's not that we've compromised anything by having me in the car, but I can only get it so far compared to current cars.

"But as teams continue to build their first Cars of Tomorrow, more drivers are going to be exposed to them. Since we're going to have a hard rulebook in their hands next week, that's started to light the fire."

Earlier this season, the Car of Tomorrow was tested twice at the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway and twice on Atlanta Motor Speedway, a 1.54-mile track.

A test had been scheduled at Darlington after the Dodge Charger 500 in May, but Bodine said that had been dropped in favor of another 1.5-mile test, at Lowe's Motor Speedway on the Tuesday after the May 28 Coca-Cola 600.