Inside the Halls of Petty: The long COT wait is over

Hey guys, Robbie Loomis again. I hope everyone had a good week. We didn't fair too bad down at Atlanta. It was chilly, but Bobby warmed things up for everyone on Friday night during qualifying.

Inside Petty

Each week on NASCAR.COM, Robbie Loomis will take fans "Inside the Halls of Petty Enterprises." A championship-winning crew chief, Loomis has 26 victories atop the pit box and as Vice President of Operations oversees both Petty cars.

He qualified his Dodge sixth. That's the best qualifying effort for the team this season. Kyle and his team had their hands full, but ended their weekend better later in the race Sunday. It wasn't the results we were looking for. We know we have more work to do.

Looking ahead, that red-letter date that everyone has circled on their calendars is here. This weekend the Car of Tomorrow will become the Car of Today. Bristol Motor Speedway will be the stage on which these state-of-the-art "stock cars" will make their debut.

By now you have all seen what a COT looks like. It's a little different with the front splitter and the wing where the spoiler used to sit. These modifications were made in an attempt to make the cars less dependant on aerodynamics. NASCAR hopes that this will provide more side-by-side racing, similar to what you see in the Craftsman Truck Series.

The cars are also much safer, with larger greenhouse areas and seats that are closer to the center of the car. These safety improvements are the most important feature of these new rides. As for the improvements in the racing, we will find that out soon enough.

I've been asked a lot about this new car. Questions like, "What do you think?" and "Will it even the playing field?" and "Is this going to improve our sport?"

We are hoping that two of the main objectives for this project are accomplished. Obviously safety is the main objective. It always has been for this car. I like that. That's good to see. The car is designed to help keep the stars of our sport safe -- that's important. We also hope that it evens the playing field between the one- to two-car teams and the four- to five-car teams.

As I said last week, Petty Enterprises has been involved in this program for a long time. Kyle was one of the first guys in the garage to embrace this project. He wanted Petty Enterprises to help NASCAR immediately with the Car of Tomorrow. I think he should get a lot of credit in helping take this car from development to where it is today. Petty Enterprises was at the first test. Kyle was there giving feedback. He has been a big supporter and that has helped us.

I think that has us prepared for this first race at Bristol. Our No. 43 and No. 45 Dodge Avengers had a great test up there earlier in the month. Petty Enterprises has four wins at the Bristol. Kyle has run well there and Bobby, too.

We're prepared for this weekend. Bristol is always very exciting. Throw in the COT and you can see why drivers, crew chiefs, owners and fans alike have had this date fresh on their minds for a long time. We will also take the COT to Martinsville next weekend. We should have a good grasp of how the new features will hold up after we beat and bang on them for two weeks. All the teams are going to learn a lot.

Speaking of Bristol and Martinsville -- how many wins does Petty Enterprises have at these two legendary short tracks?

Try an astounding 23 wins. Four have come at Bristol and 19 at Martinsville. That gives us a lot of confidence the next two weeks.

See you in Victory Lane,

Robbie