A long process: The five stages of COT inspection

BRISTOL, Tenn. -- As Nextel Cup teams rolled into the east Tennessee mountains, there was uncertainty regarding this weekend's festivities. The debut of the Car of Tomorrow would take place at Bristol Motor Speedway, and if anything was learned at the February test, it was inspection was going to be a problem.

In some cases, it took teams hours to get their car through the in-depth COT inspection process. And a much tighter one as well, as teams learned there wasn't as much "wiggle-room" with the COT.

Inspection was such a concern heading into this weekend, NASCAR officials decided to open the process a day early, giving teams the opportunity to be inspected all day Thursday, so it wouldn't cut into a team's practice time Friday.

Juan Montoya's No. 42 Dodge team learned firsthand on Thursday just how valuable the extra day would be.

The team lined up at 11 a.m. ET to begin the inspection process. Five hours later, at 4:10 p.m., the No. 42 was ready to begin the first stage of a five-stage process.

Stage 1 consists of a large car template being placed on top of the car. It's a lot like the inspection of old, with four hard points that have to line up exactly and many areas which have a certain amount of leeway. Also in Stage 1, officials check the rear-wing mounts, the wheel wells and the length and width of the car.

It was Stage 1 where Montoya's crew hit a snag. The rear-wing mount was not lined up correctly and a crew member was allowed to alter the vehicle so it would conform to regulations.

"There were a few places it didn't fit," Montoya's crew chief, Donnie Wingo, said. "There was a holdup on the wing mount. We felt we had everything pretty close, it's just getting it to fit."

After three attempts, the No. 42 Dodge was in compliance and ready to move on to Stage 2. It's now 4:26 p.m.

During Stage 2, officials check the windshield, the rear window and side windows to make sure they are within limits. Stage 2 is where the focus is really on the front and rear of the car. Multiple measurements are taken on both areas. This entire process took 13 minutes as more adjustments had to be made, this time up on the front of the car. (Continued)