Midterm: COT passing in places, struggling in others

The conclusion of yesterday's Lenox Industrial Tools 300 marks the halfway point in the Car of Tomorrow's abbreviated, 16-race debut. As such, it's time for me to issue its midterm report card -- but first some overall observations.

For starters, despite the numerous e-mails I've received predicting otherwise, the NASCAR world still spins on its north-south axis. The mass defection of longtime NASCAR fans has not occurred. Hendrick Motorsports has not won every single COT Race. Nor has NASCAR conveniently looked the other way every time HMS presents its cars for inspection. That said, it's a mixed bag for the COT.

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Safety
Grade: A

From the very beginning, the primary goal of this new design has been to increase driver safety. The safety enhancements designed into the car all seem well thought through and faithfully executed. Thankfully, there have been no real-world tests of the car's crashworthiness. So far, so good.

Performance
Grade: C

This one's harder to grade than I thought. To be sure, it does not handle as well as the current car. The center of gravity is higher, the roll center is higher, it still doesn't rotate through the center of corners very well, it's as aero-sensitive as ever and it's easy to overdrive the thing. As Jeff Gordon put it yesterday, it's a rhythm car. I'd rather see a car that can be pushed harder than that.

But the current car is dancing on the knife's edge of being genuinely too fast for many of the tracks it races on, e.g. Atlanta, Lowe's, Texas and Las Vegas. In lieu of restrictor plates -- which no one will accept -- we're presented with the COT and its purposely suboptimal aerodynamic and suspension packages. It'll be very interesting to see how the COT develops into the racecar it will become.

Competitiveness
Grade: B+

She may not be much to look at, but there is no way to deny that this car has put on eight really good races. Average margin of victory: 1.75 seconds. Six of its eight races were decided by less than a second, with three of those decided by less than 0.07 seconds. It's must-see TV.

Dale Earnhardt Inc., Joe Gibbs Racing and Chip Ganassi Racing have proven that Hendrick Motorsports is not invincible. It's only a matter of time before all the usual suspects are competing at, or near, their pre-COT levels. I'd be remiss if I didn't offer a tip of the hat to Haas CNC Racing for its David vs. Goliath-like COT successes. (Continued)