Questions remain after day of COT practice, qualifying

BRISTOL, Tenn. -- With one Car of Tomorrow practice and now qualifying under the drivers' belts, one might think some questions have been answered as Sunday's Food City 500 and the debut of the COT in race conditions approaches. One would be wrong.

"What happens from now on is going to kind of be new to everybody, how it races and how it races with all 43 cars on the track," said Kasey Kahne, who will start on the outside of Row 1 with a speed of 125.313 mph (15.312). "It's a lot of unknowns and we'll find out this weekend and next weekend what this car is all about."

In the first practice Friday morning, the car was about being equal. Just a half-second separated the top time of Denny Hamlin (15.484) and the last-place lap of Joe Nemechek (16.011).

If the Car of Tomorrow is supposed to even out the field, some think it's working, as teams like Jeremy Mayfield, Mike Bliss and A.J. Allmendinger, who have found it hard to qualify on time, all made Sunday's race.

"Its interesting to look at the leaderboard and how some teams who you think would really be strong are struggling and other teams you might not give enough credit to are really running good," said J.J. Yeley, who will start 38th.

"I think that's what NASCAR had in mind when it dreamt up the Car of Tomorrow and trying to make it an equal playing field for teams that have $30 million budgets and teams the have $10 million budgets. So far it's working out."

Jeff Gordon, a five-time winner at Bristol Motor Speedway, won his fifth pole at the track on Friday with a speed of 125.453 (15.295). For Gordon, looking at past history at Bristol and the uncertainty of the COT, it was all about a good qualifying run.

"When we unloaded we were close, I felt like we had a car that was capable of running some fast times but we just kept making small improvements and right there toward the end of practice, the last couple runs we made we really hit on something and that's when I knew we had a shot at it [Friday]," Gordon said.

"I felt like qualifying would be tough and it would be important and I wanted to focus on it 100 percent -- we did and it paid off."

But it's the unknown that will plague these drivers until the checkered flag drops Sunday afternoon.

"Anybody who can tell you, 'We're gonna run good [Sunday],' they are a better man than me because I honestly don't know what to expect," said Jeff Burton, who qualified 29th with a speed of 123.570 (15.528). "There are a lot of things you don't know about the things that are coming -- like the rubber on the racetrack and things like that. I saw some cars that handled really poorly and I saw some cars that handled really well."

For Burton's RCR teammate Clint Bowyer, who will roll off Sunday in the 18th starting position, his goal is to just get out of Bristol in one piece.

Gordon on Bristol pole for COT debut

The Chevrolet Impala was better than the Dodge Avenger in qualifying, as the new COT models of Jeff Gordon and Kasey Kahne, respectively, will start on the front row.

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"I don't know what to think," he said. "If we get out of here with the fenders on and a smile on our face, I'll probably love it, otherwise I'll hate it. I'll tell you, everybody's going to be that way.

"The guys who get around this place good are still going to be the guys to beat at the end of the day. Handling is going to be a big part of it. Who can keep the car ... Lap 20, 30, 40 -- who's fast up in those laps are going to be the ones to beat."

Kahne agrees with Bowyer, but wonders just how the faster cars are going to get around the other drivers on the .533-mile racetrack.

"I think you'll see a normal Bristol race. I think there will be more cars nose-to-tail," Kahne said. "If you have to move people or if you can actually pass with this car, that's what we'll find out."

Yeley, who has finishes of 33rd and 31st at Bristol, sees the bottom of the track as the key to a driver's success.

"There's gonna be great racing, door-to-door -- I don't think you can change that when you come to Bristol, that's just the characteristics of the racetrack," he said. "The biggest thing will be the guys who can keep their cars on the bottom 10-15 laps into a run."

For Burton it all comes down to the team. Throw everything you know out the window. Which team adjusts to the Car of Tomorrow best will be successful on Sunday.

"Every time there's a change, there's always someone saying, 'This is gonna favor veteran drivers or this is gonna favor the more skilled drivers'. Anytime that we come to the racetrack the people that have the advantage are the teams that do the best job," Burton said.

"When I say teams I'm talking about the drivers, crew chiefs, engineering back at the shop, engine builders -- whoever has the best combination is going to do the best job and I don't think it favors anyone other than the best organization."