Special: Car of Tomorrow (COT)

What will come of Bristol 2007??? That's the big question between fans, drivers and Nascar in regards to the debut of the Car of Tomorrow. There seems to be numerous concerns from the new look to how it will react on the track with other races cars.

Eye sore? The new car is ugly! That's the consensus amongst the majority of the drivers and their teams. The car is a little taller than the current model, has a rear spoiler that's attatched by two sections on both ends instead of the metal sheet that goes along the back side of the car. Ok, so in my opinion the car isn't THAT bad.. but what is hideous is the new front splitter which is supposed to help with cool air intake. Can we say - EW? Not to mention, let's talk about nascar crashes with the new front splitter and rear spoiler. The car may be bigger, but they seem too fragile. There's no fast way of reattatching the rear spoiler if you bump into the wall and knock it off, nor can you take a hammer to bang out the front splitter. SO does this mean a small bump could greatly hinder the ability to finish a race?

INSPECTION!!! The new inspection process takes an hour for each car, MUCH longer than the couple minute inspection it takes for the current models. This new process involves this curtain to be lowered down onto the car. This has proved to be so much of an issue, that they are opening up the garages at Bristol a day early to be able to inspect all the cars prior to the practice laps. Unfortunately this is not the only problem. As of today's date, the amount of cars that have passed prior inspections : 0. Noone knows if their car will even pass for the actual race. Some failed because the drivers side was 17 thousands of an inch too long. ???????

The COT has only been tested on single tracks, noone knows how the car will react in real race conditions. The stiff springs should add the the excitment making it harder to pass cars on the turns. According the Kyle Busch, they're going to need three feet of room to pass other cars.

The added height and spoiler on the COT has affect the way air flows over the car. Mike Skinner who is currently leading in the Truck Series says that it runs like a combination of the nextel cup cars and the trucks. Supposidly those drivers who have raced in the Truck series will have an advantage because they will be able to transition easier to the new feel of the car and how to handle it.

What I want to know is why debut this car at Bristol where theirs a lot of bumping and body damage??? (well.. Las Vegas may have recently exceeded the body damage count). I have a feeling that there will be plenty of DNF's and suprises this upcoming race this weekend. ANY THING GOES!