What's the COST of the COT? Nobody's saying (cont'd)

If you add up all the work that was done and put a price tag on what it took to bring nearly 50 COTs (not counting backup cars) to Bristol and again the following week to Martinsville, you could probably buy the island of your choice. What it costs in dollars is one thing; the cost in human terms is a bunch more.

"... these teams are working harder than they've ever worked," Hendrick said. "If we could come test more it would probably be a bit different. Having to go to places that you're not going to race to try to learn doesn't give you much time to really tune the car up."

When the COT hits the track at Martinsville this weekend, it will be the first time. There was no COT test for the .526-mile Virginia oval, which is about as different from Bristol as it can get.

The idea for the Car of Tomorrow, or at least part of it, was to help teams defray the expense of building multiple cars for different tracks. For example, you wouldn't run the same car at Bristol as you did at Atlanta. They are different animals altogether. Theoretically, it would save money if the teams had to build fewer cars.

"We'll see how that turns out," Hendrick said. "I know NASCAR is concerned. They want a good show. The fans want a good show. They want people to race. We've been doing this a long time and we've adapted."

Yes, the team owners have adapted, and so have drivers, teams, officials and fans. What the adaptation that follows will teach us is how much adaptation remains.

"We added rear windows to Monte Carlos when they didn't have downforce," Hendrick said. "NASCAR would come up with rules changes to make the cars more competitive. And they work with the crew chiefs to try to find the fix for things. So I'm confident that NASCAR is not going to let the car be a problem with the show.

"There are a lot of smart people with all these teams. NASCAR is going to keep working with these guys. Once you say you're going to run it, now we've got to fix it. We've got to make it what it needs to be. You're not going to do that the first race out of the box.

"They're going to try to stick to the plan to keep the costs down and the car safe. It's also got to be competitive. Everybody will work together. We're all in this together and we've got a lot of work to do. But I think we'll get it done."

Undoubtedly Hendrick is correct in that assumption, but it begs the question: At what cost? We're about to find out.