COT: Why it's come to this and where it all is headed

Man, we've had it good. We've had it so good for so long that we're, frankly, spoiled. Not spoiled rotten, but spoiled nevertheless. We have all borne witness to the rise and triumph of one of the greatest spectator sports the world has ever known. And I, for one, am thankful.

What started out as a means for a few boys freshly home from World War II to channel their new-found mechanical prowess and high tolerance for risk into a legal, peacetime thrill ended up becoming the uniquely American blend of speed, community and brand building that was, remains and will always be NASCAR.

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First and foremost, NASCAR is about the racing. Cars, on a circuit, first to complete 300 laps wins. Ready? Go.

In the beginning, NASCAR was a run-what-you-'brung affair. But racers being racers, that soon changed. The races got bigger. The tracks got bigger. The audience got bigger. The appeal of winning got bigger. The rule book got bigger. Throughout its entire history, with only a few obvious exceptions, the cars always got faster.

In racing's earliest days, the notion of "daredevils tempting death at every turn, all for a shot at glory" was the hook that got butts in the bleachers. It was gladiatorial, and we ate it up in heaping helpings. Race fans being race fans, we've always associated faster with better. The faster the cars, the greater the spectacle. But more speed comes at a price. Once a race's purse could no longer justify the additional investment in go-fast technology and know-how, sponsorship money became part of the DNA of racing. NASCAR was no exception. And speeds continued to rise.

Then at various points in the late '90s or so, we crossed a theoretical line and cars grew to become a touch too fast for the tracks. Speeds at the entrances and exits of turns were climbing. Being the clever sorts they are, crew chiefs figured out ways to make the car behave very predictably at these new limits. Drivers became comfortable dancing closer to the edge than they've ever danced before.

The racing was great. The sport was ascending. Legends were born.

Then came the deaths of Adam Petty ad Kenny Irwin in 2000; Dale Earnhardt in 2001; followed by the gut-wrenching injuries to Steve Park later in 2001 and Jerry Nadeau in 2003. There have been other incidents, but those were the biggest shots across NASCAR's bow. Lawyers on both sides of the issue began wringing their hands. Sponsors became nervous. Things needed to change out on the track. The speeds needed to be reigned in.

Of all the premier forms of auto racing around the world, NASCAR was probably the last to experience the acute need to slow down its fleet. Formula One, CART and IRL, World Rally, and the NHRA all faced the difficult task of slowing down their cars -- without emasculating their appeal. Each had its own unique challenges and issues. Some were more successful at it than others. All of them had their critics.

And now its NASCAR's turn.

First came the easy changes in the name of driver safety: softer walls at the tracks and either HANS or Hutchins devices for all drivers. Then came welcome improvements to helmets, seats and seatbelts. Even tire compounds changed to reduce grip and speed through the turns. The changes bought NASCAR some time, but the fact remained that NASCAR's current cars were still too fast.

Next came the hard part. A car that was (gasp) slower, but just as racy and entertaining as the old car. Enter the Car of Tomorrow, NASCAR's response to the paradoxical problem of racecar speed reduction. It's altogether too easy to find fault with any new racecar design. The COT is no exception.

Every great racecar begins life as an ill-handling pig. That's why shakedowns and testing are a necessary part of any successful racing program. Let's be clear here, the 2007 was a points-awarded shakedown session for the COT. With only minor changes, if any, to the chassis' specs expected for 2008, I suspect next season will be a continuation of that shakedown as well, but to a lesser degree.

The biggest change we can expect between this season and next will likely come from Goodyear. Extensive tire testing is planned during the offseason to help sort out new compounds designed to help teams cope with their biggest handling issues. That will be a big improvement, but it will only be an intermediate step. I imagine any major changes to the chassis will not come until after another full season's worth of data is gathered.

Keep in mind, though, that the goal will be not to make the cars faster, but to make the racing better. We've all heard the drivers knock the inability of the car to turn through the center of the corner. To overcome that, this weekend had some teams make the rear end so loose on entry that the car couldn't help but rotate better though the middle. Did you notice all that tire smoke? Other teams will crank in a ton of camber and lower the air pressure to get that right-front contact patch as fat as it can be. Are those the right ways to make the racing better or safer? Probably not.

Like it or not, NASCAR's slow and methodical approach to dialing in the car is probably the right way to go. NASCAR, the teams, the drivers and us fans will probably do best by taking the long-term approach to accepting the new car. We have to accept the fact that during this transition, the chassis will not always be perfect ... or all that good for that matter. If we stick with it, the racing will get better and it will get safer. Everybody wants it. The smartest people in racing are working on it. It will happen.

Campaigning only one spec of car will help immediately. After this Sunday's race at Homestead, teams will be able to focus 100 percent of their resources on the new car. That alone will spur advancements in the car's well-documented handling shortcomings. So let's take all the complaints, all the gripes, all the data we have on the COT and make an action plan out of it.

After its maiden season, we all know what to make of the COT. What we do not yet know is what to make it into. That we'll learn soon enough. Then it won't be long before we'll have it as good as we've had it in the past.

The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.