Brett Bodine explained the Car of Tomorrow safety features and took questions from fans on Monday at Daytona. Credit: Autostock

Once critical, fans now see positives of COT

Q&A session with Bodine clarify's purpose of new machine

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Skeptics of NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow appear to be getting fewer and much harder to find.

Much of the credit for that must go to Brett Bodine, the former driver whose official title is director of cost research for NASCAR's Research and Development Center in Concord, N.C. His unofficial title could be Mouthpiece of the Car of Tomorrow, and he appears to be making successful converts of COT critics on several fronts every day.

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	NOT WORRIED Gary Nelson, once the brains behind the Car of Tomorrow, said he was never worried about the spec car's loud critics.  •   Complete story, click here

First he had to tackle car owners and drivers, most of whom seem to be coming around after many initially questioned the wisdom of the project. On Monday, it was the fans' turn to be wooed by Bodine's sanguine logic during a question-and-answer session about the car at Daytona USA.

After Bodine spent about 30 minutes explaining what he sees as the three-pronged benefits of the Car of Tomorrow and then answering fans' sometimes pointed questions, he said he considered it another successful day in his quest to put to rest negative rumors about what has been, at times, a controversial subject.

"We're winning over new people every day," he said.

The proof Monday was in the consensus of the crowd that had gathered to grill him. Several who admitted that they arrived on the scene as skeptics left satisfied not only with Bodine's answers, but also with the sleek look of the car, which was dressed up as one of driver Jeff Gordon's No. 24 Chevrolet Impalas.

Among the points made by Bodine was that despite teams being required to use the same chassis in building their COTs, which will be used in 16 races this season and all 36 by 2009, they will have plenty of opportunity to make the actual body of the car look like a manufacturer's product uniquely their own.

"I don't think, as some of my fellow drivers have suggested, that it looks like a brick or a flying school bus," Bodine said. "I don't think it looks even remotely like either one of those things. I think it's a really great-looking racecar."

More importantly, to Bodine and the fans, it is going to be markedly safer.

"I got a better understanding of what they did safety-wise, and I understand more now why they did it," said fan Don Cobb, 32, of Jacksonville, Fla. "The original view I had of it, when I heard some of the drivers describe it as a brick or whatever, I didn't think that really appealed to the design or the shapes of the cars that we're used to seeing. But safety-wise, I like what they've done with it. I do believe it will bring more exciting racing."

Added fan Veronica Harrell of Tallahassee, Fla.: "I was skeptical just because of all the press that I had read, where this driver didn't like it and that driver don't like it. I wanted an explanation as to what was going on.

"One of the big questions I had, [Bodine] answered right off. At Talladega in 2000, Dale Earnhardt was 18th and in eight [actually five] laps he goes to the front. So there was more passing and maneuverability. And that was the first thing he said -- that you would see a lot more side-by-side passing."

The Car of Tomorrow's wing has been a controversial piece on the machine. Credit: Turner Sports New Media

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The same features that should produce those positives -- an adjustable rear wing and front-end splitter that will allow the car to run in smoother air -- have drawn criticism for taking away from what some have argued are the sleeker-looking current cars that do not have them.

Bodine has always argued that once the Car of Tomorrow is completely outfitted in a paint scheme comparable to the current machines, fans won't be able to tell the difference between the cars of today and tomorrow on the racetrack -- especially when they're moving at speeds of 190 mph or more.

After Monday, fans polled seemed to agree.

"I think actually, overall, it's a pretty decent-looking car," Harrell said. "I think that they'll find that it's a little more aerodynamic as far as being able to adjust it. ... It's going to be a more equal car; that's what it amounts to."

Cobb added: "I like to see the fin back. I like that part on it, just the whole aspect of it. The front-end part of it is kind of questionable. ... But I was definitely more of a skeptic before hearing him explain everything. I definitely have more of an understanding of what they've done now."

But the most important feature of the Car of Tomorrow is that it should be much safer for the drivers, fan Russell Robins said.

"I think the improved features are very good, especially when you look at the race drivers that have been injured over the years like Dale Earnhardt," said Robins, 37, of Tallahassee. "I don't think they've taken away from the car. I think they've improved it in every aspect. It's more safe, yet they haven't reduced the weight of the car and the looks haven't changed that much. ... It's a win-win situation."

The Car of Tomorrow is designed to promote increased safety, improved racing competition, and cut costs dramatically for car owners. Bodine estimates that most teams now build 15 to 20 cars per driver per season and that the COT eventually "will lessen that inventory by about half."

Among the safety features are a larger greenhouse for drivers. With the roof two inches higher than current models and the cockpit four inches wider, the theory is that the drivers will have larger cocoon within which to absorb the impact of hits in wrecks.

There also is a double-frame rail on the driver's side, with steel plating on the outside of the roll-cage door bars to help prevent intrusion during car-to-car or car-to-wall impact.

Other improved safety features include an enclosed 360-degree steel containment tunnel for the drive shaft, a stronger steel floorboard underneath the driver and energy management materials installed between the roll-cage door bars and door panels.

Bodine sang the praises of each and every feature Monday, while an attentive audience paid close attention.

Gene Akley, who said he would soon will be moving to the Daytona Beach from Massachusetts, had a vested interest in the question-and-answer session. He wondered how many of the safety features would trickle down to NASCAR's modified division, which his son, Buck, competes in.

"I feel much better about it, now that I see what they've done," Akley said. "I think it's going to make some of the lesser teams a lot more competitive."