NASCAR’S Car of Tomorrow is on the fast track today

Lee Spencer, Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

Published August 22, 2006 at midnight

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BROOKLYN, Mich. — It’s as if Michael Waltrip has been set free.

At 6-foot-5, Waltrip has always felt as if he were "racing in a Volkswagen Beetle" — until Monday, when he finally got the chance to test his Car of Tomorrow Camry on a NASCAR track with 14 Nextel Cup competitors.

"This feels like a racecar," Waltrip said following the first test session at Michigan International Speedway. "I had lots of room in the cockpit, and I felt a lot safer. That’s just a wonderful feeling, that you’re not all crunched down in there."

Safety is just one of the elements that went into developing the COT. With a roof that is two inches higher and a cockpit that is four inches wider than the current Cup cars, teams will be able to insulate the drivers better with the use of double roll bars on the driver’s side of the car and energy-absorbing materials in the door panels to reduce the force of impact.

Waltrip also was complimentary of the car's handling and its looks, saying he doesn't expect fans to be put off by the car's design.

Competition and cost also factor into the COT equation. NASCAR believes that the aerodynamic adjustability with the rear spoiler will eliminate the need for teams to invest in specialized cars for individual tracks. But that remains to be seen. Waltrip is busy constructing 17 cars for his own team and perhaps as many as 60 for his entire organization for next year. Many of those cars will be obsolete as the COT program is phased in.

To get a feel for how the cars would react in traffic, NASCAR broke the second test session up into three segments with two 10-lap runs and one 25-lap run with all 12 cars running in a pack.

"We can get more rear downforce in this car than we could in our old car; the problem is you can’t do a lot in the front of the car," said four-time champion Jeff Gordon. "The front of the car has a lot less downforce, but you can’t move the splitter. It has to be flat. NASCAR is dictating how far off the ground it is, so the thing for the team is to make sure it’s in its optimal ride height."

NASCAR is giving teams a variety of options to adjust the ride height — by adding bump stops to the shocks and increasing the spring coils (from 8-3/4 to 9-1/2 inches) and the spring rates. Plus, NASCAR contends that the "splitter", a shelf that sits just under the front air dam and catches air and pushes it under the car, can be adjustable.

On Monday, Waltrip also reveled in the accomplishment of taking his Toyota program from the drawing board to the racetrack.

"It’s all new," said Waltrip, who will continue his testing tour tomorrow at Kentucky Speedway, along with Jeremy Mayfield. "New engine. New Camry. It’s a big day for the team — a big day for Toyota and NASCAR. "It’s a good thing we don’t have to worry about racing (the Toyotas) this year, too. Our focus needs to be on building cars, taking them to the wind tunnel and then validating what we learn by testing. We’ve still got a ways to go."

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