 | | Jeff Burton likes the wing idea for the Car of Tomorrow. Credit: Autostock |
By Dave Rodman, NASCAR.COM
April 3, 2006
11:12 AM EDT (15:12 GMT)
MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- Count Richard Childress Racing's Jeff Burton as the latest high-profile conversion to the concept of wings on Nextel Cup cars -- specifically NASCAR's "Car of Tomorrow." The second COT short track test of the year is Monday at Martinsville Speedway. RCR's Kevin Harvick will test Childress' car.  |  | | The nose of the CoT is dramatically different. Credit: Dave Rodman/NASCAR.COM |
| |   | 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| SEAL OF APPROVAL | 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.
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| BRISTOL TEST | NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow tested on Monday on the track where it will make its official debut a year from now and received high marks from both NASCAR and the drivers who participated.
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The car's been tested a total of five times, last weekend at the Bristol Motor Speedway short track and previously at Daytona and Atlanta Motor Speedway. Burton got his first taste of a stock car with a wing at last week's Car of Tomorrow test at Bristol. The session was a revelation to both himself and RCR, who received high marks from NASCAR's Brett Bodine at Martinsville. "RCR has taken a strong stance in preparing for next year," Bodine said. "They're impressing me with their intensity that they've attacked this project." To this point, the COT, which is taller and wider than the current racecar, has been decried for resembling a Craftsman Truck Series vehicle. But Burton confirmed its flexibility. "We have a box and a wing," Burton said. "I think the wing is going to be the answer. I'm not a wing guy. I wasn't a proponent of the wing until I ran the car with the wing. "I like the adjustability of the wing. I think the wings [will] make racing better. The aero push behind the body won't be as bad and the loss of aerodynamics to the sides of the body won't be as bad. "I think it will breed a situation where you can pass more and also run side by side more." Bodine said Sunday that where and whether the COT will alternately employ either a wing or a standard spoiler is still being determined. "We don't know yet where we'll use the wing and where we'll possibly use a spoiler," Bodine said. "And that's the beauty of this car -- the aerodynamic characteristics of this car can be changed with bolt-on items. "With today's car, if you want to change the aerodynamic characteristics, you've got to cut part of the body off and change the body configuration to create a different aerodynamic effect. "The Car of Tomorrow will not be that way. All of the aerodynamic aspects will be able to be changed with bolt-on items and will be adjustable for the teams. "That's why we're doing these tests, to get driver feedback and team feedback so we can make the best decisions." That development continues Monday, when NASCAR's prototype, whose primary driver has been Bodine since the program began, joins Childress' car on track. "Michael Waltrip's told me he'll be here," Bodine said. "Though I'm not sure whether or not he's going to drive the car." Rusty Wallace, who originally planned to attend the Bristol test at NASCAR per president Mike Helton's invitation to test the COT, Sunday night said he had canceled plans to come to Martinsville, again deferring that ride into the future. "Retirement has got me running as hard as I ever did," Wallace said in the aftermath of Sunday's IRL broadcast from St. Petersburg, Fla. "I am really looking forward to driving the Car of Tomorrow and giving NASCAR some input on it, but [Monday] I'm looking forward to being home with my family, in my own home for a while." Along with NASCAR's prototype, which is typically driven by Bodine, the cars of Childress, Roush Racing (driven by Carl Edwards) and Ganassi Racing (Reed Sorenson) tested at Bristol. Bodine, NASCAR's director of cost research and a key member of the COT development team, said Sorenson, a 2006 Nextel Cup Raybestos Rookie of the Year candidate, scuffed the wall with Ganassi's car, ending its test early. After a full day of Bristol testing, Burton was full of praise for both the car and the concept. "I like the fact that with the plan for the Car of Tomorrow you can run a car at Martinsville, Daytona and Charlotte," Burton said. "To me, you can unload the thing off the hauler, set it to maximum ride height and go. "With the wing you can adjust the end plates, adjust the angle of the wing and adjust the wicker. It gives you a lot of flexibility so that aerodynamically you can take the car and run it in Phoenix and take it to Michigan next week and run it. "The biggest evolution at this point from where they started is the wing. Again, I wasn't a proponent of the wing but right now I think it's the right thing to do." | 
