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.

Stage 3 isn't really an inspection phase; it's more for the crews. At 4:39 p.m. the No. 42 Dodge made its way to Stage 3 where the crews put the rear wing, shark fin and roof rails on the car for measurements.

They also added fuel to the car to make sure the weight is correct when the car goes to the scale. With the addition of parts and fuel, it took the team 14 minutes, putting the time at 4:53 p.m.

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More than 40 minutes into the process and the No. 42 Dodge is at the halfway point. At Stage 4, officials check the height of the car in different places. They also check the wheel base, the track width and the roof.

Once again, the No. 42 ran into some problems with the rear wing, this time the angle. But after some discussion between Wingo and the officials, it was determined the car was satisfactory and no changes were made.

Finally, at 5:04 p.m., the car is ready to hit the scale and be weighed. At 5:15 p.m. -- exactly 6 hours and 15 minutes from the time the process started -- the No. 42 Dodge received its green-approval sticker, had it applied to the windshield, and made its way back to the garage.

"If I could change one thing it would be to figure out a way to speed the process up," Wingo said. "This is the first time we've done this inspection so as time goes on, it will get better, but it has to speed up."

If the process is taking too long, Nextel Cup Series director John Darby hasn't heard any complaints. In fact, he couldn't be more pleased with how things went Thursday.

"I really haven't [heard anything]," he said. "If you're 25 cars back in the line, they're kind of looking at their watches and grumbling. And that's more of making sure they get the opportunity to get up and get inspected.

"Overall, everybody has just done a great job. I can't be happier."

Wingo understands the difficulties in unveiling a new racecar, but thinks in some areas of the COT, the margin for error is too slim.

"Every time you start something new it's going to be slow the first time," Wingo said. "When you change something, it will be different. It will get better.

"Its one of those deals where no one is trying to bend the rules, no one is looking to push it too far. Everyone is trying to stay within the limits; it's just hard to fit."

Darby says time won't be a factor with inspection for very long. Teams are currently allowed to make adjustments during inspection, but only at Bristol and Martinsville. When the Car of Tomorrow returns at Phoenix on April 21, any changes will be made after inspection and the car will have to be re-inspected.

"We went into this weekend with no regards to having what I would regard as a normal inspection," Darby said. "The mission statement that was given to officials -- even in their meeting [Thursday] morning -- was to spend as much time as you need explaining things to people as you possibly can, because we've got an opportunity here at Bristol this weekend, and the same opportunity next week at Martinsville, to teach and inspect.

"So there was no hurry, there was no rush. There's no deadline that we have to be done by, and that was the approach."