NASCAR COT a big joke.

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The COT isn't just about safety.

They look butt ugly reason for a reason.

If a car looks sleek then it probably has good aero.

If a car looks ugly it has crap aero, lots of drag, and therefore bigger holes in the air and more passing. That's why NASCAR and commentators keeps comparing the COT with CTS.

I don't think there's a problem with the front splitters cutting tyres. The rear bumper overhang looks long enough (because it acts like a diffuser).

[POS_Maggott]

There are problems right now, but they'll be fixed with time I think.

At Dega and Daytona, I cant picture the splitter cutting tires. All the teams are going to be running the smallest splitter available, so it should not hang out as far as the one used at short tracks.

[call_me_andrew]

The COT isn't just about safety.
If a car looks ugly it has crap aero, lots of drag, and therefore bigger holes in the air and more passing. That's why NASCAR and commentators keeps comparing the COT with CTS.

That may be true in restrictor plate races or Indy Car races, but not with stock cars on an intermediate track.

I think there's a 20% chance that the first intermediate track race the COT sees will have minimal passing.

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That may be true in restrictor plate races or Indy Car races, but not with stock cars on an intermediate track.

I think there's a 20% chance that the first intermediate track race the COT sees will have minimal passing.

What makes you think that? Doesn't matter if its stock cars or open wheels, the same principles of aero applies.

The COT has now set a level playing field. No one knows the best way to set the cars up and the drivers are hanging on to their cars.

Lots of fans say they miss the good ol' days of NASCAR. The good ol' days were when cars were shaped like bricks!

[call_me_andrew]

What makes you think that? Doesn't matter if its stock cars or open wheels, the same principles of aero applies.

Lots of fans say they miss the good ol' days of NASCAR. The good ol' days were when cars were shaped like bricks!

1. At a restrictor plate race or an Indy Car oval race, the drivers never lift. Indy Cars have so much down force, so much mechanical grip, and so little weight that they can run lots of down force, hold the throttle open, and still make faster lap times than a low drag car with a driver that lifts. Running a lot of down force in a race where no one lifts will make drafting effective.

A stock car can run at Daytona and Talladega with minimal drag and not lifting because the banking nearly eliminates lateral g's.

Now if a stock car is racing on an intermediate track, the drive can have the car set up for full down force, but they still can't hold the throttle wide open around the track. Now when the drivers have to lift, drafting means precisely s***. They need downforce to keep their speeds up, but they can't get any with other cars around because the draft is now dirty air making the cars less stable. Cars with more drag make more dirty air. While the wing is suppose to help reduce the amount of dirty air made, there's still a 20% chance of a parade breaking out.

2. No, the good ol' days were the 90's. The cars were real cars, the racing was close, and the coverage was free of hyperbole.

1998 Exide NASCAR Select Batteries 400 at Richmond

1. Jeff Burton: Ford
2. Jeff Gordon: Chevy
Margin of victory: 0.051
Time of race: 3:15:41
Cautions: 8 for 66 laps
Caution Laps: 18-25 (#75 oil on track), 36-48 (#3,16,42,77 accident backstretch), 145-153 (#90 accident turn 3), 207-214 (#91,97 spun turn 4), 216-221 (#44 accident turn 1), 332-339 (#3 stalled backstretch), 348-352 (#88 spun frontstretch), 364-372 (#18 accident turn 3)

Those were the good ol' days.

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1. At a restrictor plate race or an Indy Car oval race, the drivers never lift. Indy Cars have so much down force, so much mechanical grip, and so little weight that they can run lots of down force, hold the throttle open, and still make faster lap times than a low drag car with a driver that lifts. Running a lot of down force in a race where no one lifts will make drafting effective.

A stock car can run at Daytona and Talladega with minimal drag and not lifting because the banking nearly eliminates lateral g's.

Now if a stock car is racing on an intermediate track, the drive can have the car set up for full down force, but they still can't hold the throttle wide open around the track. Now when the drivers have to lift, drafting means precisely s***. They need downforce to keep their speeds up, but they can't get any with other cars around because the draft is now dirty air making the cars less stable. Cars with more drag make more dirty air. While the wing is suppose to help reduce the amount of dirty air made, there's still a 20% chance of a parade breaking out.

2. No, the good ol' days were the 90's. The cars were real cars, the racing was close, and the coverage was free of hyperbole.

1998 Exide NASCAR Select Batteries 400 at Richmond

1. Jeff Burton: Ford
2. Jeff Gordon: Chevy
Margin of victory: 0.051
Time of race: 3:15:41
Cautions: 8 for 66 laps
Caution Laps: 18-25 (#75 oil on track), 36-48 (#3,16,42,77 accident backstretch), 145-153 (#90 accident turn 3), 207-214 (#91,97 spun turn 4), 216-221 (#44 accident turn 1), 332-339 (#3 stalled backstretch), 348-352 (#88 spun frontstretch), 364-372 (#18 accident turn 3)

Those were the good ol' days.

1. That's because that's how it is with the aero package in IRL. Rev limited engines and lots downforce to create more drag and therefore bigger draft why do you think they mandated higher wing angles this year?

FYI, an open wheeler creates a heck of a lot more of dirty air than a stock car. The wheels, suspension parts, the wings contribute to drag and turbulent air. A stock car, by its very nature, is very bulky and creates a bigger hole in the air.

The problem with NASCAR is that today's stock cars are much more aero efficient - they produce lots of downforce with minimal drag and that's why you hear more about aero-push today than in previous decades.

2. Fair enough, that's your opinion.

IMHO, the good ol' days were BEFORE Chevy raced the Monte Carlo in the 90s.

[Rusty Spanner]

http://www.theonion.com/content/news...ils_new_car_of

CHARLOTTE, NC—Only days after its long-anticipated, much-criticized Car of Tomorrow debuted to overwhelmingly negative reviews at the Bristol Motor Speedway, NASCAR responded to the wishes of competitors and fans alike by introducing the stylishly retro, technologically retrograde NEXTEL Cup Car of Yesterday.

"This is exactly what everyone from race teams to race fans wanted all along—a real American racecar," said Robby Gordon, standing in front of the Jim Beam '77 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme he will drive for the rest of the season. "To hell with things like spoilers, adjustable suspensions, disc brakes, shoulder belts, all that junk. People want to see us racing the cars they drive every day, and anyone who's seen the parking lot at a NASCAR race will tell you that's what the Car of Yesterday gives them."

Based on tried-and-true NASCAR designs from what many consider the golden age of stock-car racing, the Car Of Yesterday is based on the racing team's choice of four-door body styles: either the '77 Cutlass Supreme, the '79 Chevrolet Caprice Classic, the '78 Dodge Diplomat, the '77 Ford Granada, the '77 Mercury Gran Marquis, or for series newcomers Toyota, the 1989 Corolla. All cars, regardless of body style, must have fully reclining seats, column shifters, vinyl tops, ashtrays, and automatically retracting seatbelts. Adding spoilers and air dams for purposes other than providing advertising space is forbidden, although teams will be allowed to bolt wooden 2-by-8 planks to their front and rear bumpers for the contact-heavy short-track races. Mechanically, all cars will be basically identical, featuring 360-cubic-inch V-8 engines with the air filters reversed, "glass-pack" mufflers, and factory power steering.

"Our primary concern with the Car of Yesterday was safety," said NASCAR competition director Robin Pemberton. "The fans hate that ****. We had to keep that in mind when we went back to the drawing board, so we took away anything that increased grip, improved handling, or prevented a stock car from experiencing a sudden and total loss of control. NASCAR isn't about the cars, it's about the drivers. And the Car of Yesterday keeps the driver involved with the vehicle, whether he's just driving it or, ideally, crashing it."

The Car of Yesterday underwent intensive single-car and multi-car tests earlier this week at Daytona, Texas Motor Speedway, and Martinsville, with testing director Brett Bodine and his crew wrecking 34 cars in routine driving. An enthusiastic Bodine reported the new design passed with flying colors.

"I could barely keep the thing out of the wall. It swapped ends, got way loose, and nearly spun out with little to no warning. Sometimes it dove down towards the infield for no reason I ever did figure out, and once coming off the banking at Daytona it rebounded off the suspension stops hard enough to bounce the whole front end in the air," said Bodine, who was pronounced healthy and released from Daytona Beach Memorial Hospital early Wednesday afternoon. "It may be the best all-around NASCAR stocker I've ever driven. I wish they had these cars when I was still racing, but unfortunately, they'd advanced past that point by then."

Drivers were unanimously positive when informed of the Car of Yesterday and praised NASCAR's courage in pursuing a deign philosophy that satisfied fans and racers alike.

"Like I said before, that Car of Tomorrow was crap," said Kyle Busch, who won the March 25 race in which the controversial design debuted. "It kind of stuck to the track in a boring way, and just sort of went where you pointed it. But this car reminds me of the ones I grew up watching—not just on the track, but on the two-lane highway outside of town. Hell, for all I know, this one was there."

NASCAR president Mike Helton is currently working closely with all competing teams, current Nextel Cup drivers, and a network of salvage yards and used-car dealers to make sure every team has enough cars and spares for the Car of Yesterday's debut race, currently scheduled for April 29 at Talladega Superspeedway, the largest tri-oval on the Nextel Cup circuit and one of NASCAR's fastest and most challenging tracks.

"We want to make sure fans have a strong first impression of the Car of Yesterday," said Helton. "And believe me, seeing a few dozen of these all-American road-hugging beauties roaring flat-out into Talladega's Turn One is something they'll be talking about for years."

[Sparky1329]

http://www.theonion.com/content/news...ils_new_car_of

CHARLOTTE, NC—Only days after its long-anticipated, much-criticized Car of Tomorrow debuted to overwhelmingly negative reviews at the Bristol Motor Speedway, NASCAR responded to the wishes of competitors and fans alike by introducing the stylishly retro, technologically retrograde NEXTEL Cup Car of Yesterday.

"This is exactly what everyone from race teams to race fans wanted all along—a real American racecar," said Robby Gordon, standing in front of the Jim Beam '77 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme he will drive for the rest of the season. "To hell with things like spoilers, adjustable suspensions, disc brakes, shoulder belts, all that junk. People want to see us racing the cars they drive every day, and anyone who's seen the parking lot at a NASCAR race will tell you that's what the Car of Yesterday gives them."

Based on tried-and-true NASCAR designs from what many consider the golden age of stock-car racing, the Car Of Yesterday is based on the racing team's choice of four-door body styles: either the '77 Cutlass Supreme, the '79 Chevrolet Caprice Classic, the '78 Dodge Diplomat, the '77 Ford Granada, the '77 Mercury Gran Marquis, or for series newcomers Toyota, the 1989 Corolla. All cars, regardless of body style, must have fully reclining seats, column shifters, vinyl tops, ashtrays, and automatically retracting seatbelts. Adding spoilers and air dams for purposes other than providing advertising space is forbidden, although teams will be allowed to bolt wooden 2-by-8 planks to their front and rear bumpers for the contact-heavy short-track races. Mechanically, all cars will be basically identical, featuring 360-cubic-inch V-8 engines with the air filters reversed, "glass-pack" mufflers, and factory power steering.

"Our primary concern with the Car of Yesterday was safety," said NASCAR competition director Robin Pemberton. "The fans hate that ****. We had to keep that in mind when we went back to the drawing board, so we took away anything that increased grip, improved handling, or prevented a stock car from experiencing a sudden and total loss of control. NASCAR isn't about the cars, it's about the drivers. And the Car of Yesterday keeps the driver involved with the vehicle, whether he's just driving it or, ideally, crashing it."

The Car of Yesterday underwent intensive single-car and multi-car tests earlier this week at Daytona, Texas Motor Speedway, and Martinsville, with testing director Brett Bodine and his crew wrecking 34 cars in routine driving. An enthusiastic Bodine reported the new design passed with flying colors.

"I could barely keep the thing out of the wall. It swapped ends, got way loose, and nearly spun out with little to no warning. Sometimes it dove down towards the infield for no reason I ever did figure out, and once coming off the banking at Daytona it rebounded off the suspension stops hard enough to bounce the whole front end in the air," said Bodine, who was pronounced healthy and released from Daytona Beach Memorial Hospital early Wednesday afternoon. "It may be the best all-around NASCAR stocker I've ever driven. I wish they had these cars when I was still racing, but unfortunately, they'd advanced past that point by then."

Drivers were unanimously positive when informed of the Car of Yesterday and praised NASCAR's courage in pursuing a deign philosophy that satisfied fans and racers alike.

"Like I said before, that Car of Tomorrow was crap," said Kyle Busch, who won the March 25 race in which the controversial design debuted. "It kind of stuck to the track in a boring way, and just sort of went where you pointed it. But this car reminds me of the ones I grew up watching—not just on the track, but on the two-lane highway outside of town. Hell, for all I know, this one was there."

NASCAR president Mike Helton is currently working closely with all competing teams, current Nextel Cup drivers, and a network of salvage yards and used-car dealers to make sure every team has enough cars and spares for the Car of Yesterday's debut race, currently scheduled for April 29 at Talladega Superspeedway, the largest tri-oval on the Nextel Cup circuit and one of NASCAR's fastest and most challenging tracks.

"We want to make sure fans have a strong first impression of the Car of Yesterday," said Helton. "And believe me, seeing a few dozen of these all-American road-hugging beauties roaring flat-out into Talladega's Turn One is something they'll be talking about for years."

[djparky]

I think I'll reserve judgement on COT- the previous car was hardly a work of art either, as for the racing, it can be a little processional at some of the mid size tracks- Atlanta, Homestead, Texas spring to mind- so I'll wait and see what effect the COT has at those places

as for the IRL comparison- well it's true they run barn doors as rear wings which is why in theory they have pack racing- mind you Homestead saw most of the cars spaced out during long green runs

[POS_Maggott]

Hey guys, I dont know if you've realized this, but I have had an amazing thought.

Check it out.

The cars will all have the same downforce, right? So they're going to go really really fast into a left hand turn, and then they're going to run whatever line the tires will stick to.

aka, THE SAME LINES THAT THEY RUN NOW.

Just because downforce changes, doesnt mean the tires are not going to grip the way they did before. All downforce means is how fast you can go, not where you can drive your car.

I guarantee the racing will not change, its all in where the rubber meets the road, and we know that hasnt changed.