Kevin Harvick said Richard Childress Racing is already building Car of Tomorrow machines for next season. Credit: Autostock

Harvick pleased after testing Car of Tomorrow

MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- For the second consecutive week, NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow tested on a short track as preparations continue for next season's debut of a safer, more competitive and cost-efficient stock car.

On Monday at Martinsville Speedway, Kevin Harvick tested the new car along with NASCAR's Brett Bodine. While early morning rain delayed the start of the test, the results were extremely positive.

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

Look into the futureCNN's Sanjay Gupta looks at NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836 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 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.  •   Complete story,  click here 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.  •   Complete story,  click here

"We went through our normal aero changes here [Monday], just to back up what the wind tunnel has been telling us, and were able to get some quality laps on the track," said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR vice president for competition.

"The wing continues to give us positive results. It is going to provide the teams with a lot of advantages when it comes to competition. We'll even get more evidence of that when we test the Car of Tomorrow next month at Lowe's Motor Speedway."

For Harvick, it was his first time driving the Car of Tomorrow and he was encouraged with his initial test run.

"When you get in the driver's seat, it feels like just another racecar," Harvick said. "We got a lot out of [Monday's] test, because it helps us determine what kind of package we will need when we run the car next season. From everything I've heard about the wing, it should be a big help in helping the car behind you get some air on its nose. That seems to be what we're fighting all the time; the aero push on the bigger racetracks."

Monday marked the second week in a row for RCR to test its Car of Tomorrow, as Jeff Burton participated in the session a week ago at Bristol. Harvick says that the RCR team has made a commitment to develop its Car of Tomorrow program.

"We didn't go to the Car of Tomorrow test at Daytona [held in January], so we came out of there saying that since we had a clean sheet of paper, we needed to work to get ahead of the game and come out of the gate strong with this car next season," Harvick said.

"Richard [Childress] has made a commitment to do that and we've assembled a team to take this car around and we should have a couple of more cars done by Charlotte."

The Car of Tomorrow is the culmination of a five-year design program being conducted at NASCAR's Research and Development Center in Concord, N.C. Of primary significance are safety innovations; performance and competition; and cost efficiency for teams. The new car will begin competition in 2007 at the spring race at Bristol Motor Speedway and will race at 16 different events next season, including both races at Martinsville Speedway. The 2008 Car of Tomorrow implementation schedule entails 26 events. Teams will run the entire 2009 schedule with the Car of Tomorrow.

The next NASCAR Car of Tomorrow test is scheduled for May 30-31 at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord.