 | | Tony Stewart has yet to test the Car of Tomorrow. Credit: Turner Sports New Media |
By Ryan Smithson, NASCAR.COM
October 20, 2006
12:47 PM EDT (16:47 GMT)
HAMPTON, Ga. -- Tony Stewart chuckled to himself when he saw Jamie McMurray's fully painted 2007 Ford Fusion at Homestead-Miami Speedway last week. Maybe chuckled isn't the word. He didn't find much to laugh about McMurray's car, which was a Car of Tomorrow prototype. Like several Nextel Cup veterans, most notably Jeff Gordon, Stewart has not been shy about his aloofness toward the Car of Tomorrow, which is scheduled to debut at Bristol next spring. Stewart has not tested the COT. Joe Gibbs Racing has only built one of the cars, which are wider and taller than the machines currently raced in the Nextel Cup Series. "I finally got to see one painted," said Stewart, speaking at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Thursday, where PowerAde presented his charitable foundation with a $100,000 check. "I thought it would look a lot better with paint on it, and it didn't look any better. "It is still really ugly. When you're used to seeing real slick racecars and you see that, it doesn't look like it's a step forward." Stewart heads to Martinsville this week after famously missing the Chase this season. Unfortunately for Stewart, the incoming Car of Tomorrow will make prepping for next season difficult. In years past, a missed Chase spot often marked the beginning of an extended test session for the upcoming season, but the change in car templates in 2007 negates that opportunity. "You try things for these last five races, but next year, things will be different," Stewart said. "We have the Car of Tomorrow next year, and between now and April, technology will change even more, shocks and springs will get better, the notes will be no good. "Just a good opportunity to go out and try to win races and not worry about racing for points." Stewart won at Kansas last month after gambling on fuel. Such a victory never would have occurred had he made the Chase. "We have been able to go out and take a chance and win a fuel mileage race instead of losing a race on fuel mileage," Stewart said. "It just gives us the opportunity to try things and try things in practice that we normally wouldn't have the luxury of trying. You pretty much have to stick to your program when you're in the points chase." Stewart said he better appreciates his epochal 2005 championship season now that he is resigned to a finish outside the top 10. "It is not what we wanted, but it makes us appreciate what we did last year that much more," he said. NASCAR has hinted that changes to the Chase format are on the docket for 2007. Stewart said he hopes NASCAR moves to a points system that separates Chase contenders from non-Chase contenders. At Dover in the second race of the Chase, Stewart spun and collected Chase contender Kasey Kahne, who was saddled with a 39th-place finish. "I'd give the top 10 their own points structure these last 10 races to where the other 33 guys in the field don't dictate how many or how little points they get," Stewart said. "It shouldn't be that way; it would be like a team that is not in the playoffs interfering with the playoffs. "That is the only thing that I would do, and it could be done very easily the way the system is now." | 
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