Making an already interesting
2007 Chase even more interesting will be the 2008 Car of Tomorrow (COT) debut at Talladega,
and I for on cannot wait.
Negative responses are
probably already arriving hitting the inbox, so they will be addressed in advance:
“The cars are hard
to see out of, and see through.”
Yes, those pesky roll
bars and seat padding sure do get in the way, don’t they? But they are certainly necessary, and the cockpit of the 2008
car is larger than its predecessor, so if anything they should be superior to the previous car, visibility wise.
Regarding seeing through
the spoiler, in the NASCAR world of rules, why not mandate brake lights? Originally (like, 5 decades ago) the idea was to
eliminate glass on the track, but LED lights would hold up in a serious accident, and come “stock” on high end
street cars, and are on other world class sporty type cars. Why not Cup?
“The cars will
be able to draft more closely and inspire accidents”.
First, my standard disclaimer:
It is the inherent design flaw of too much bank at Talladega and Daytona that causes accidents, not the drivers, and certainly
not the cars.
But back to the 2008
car, it is blockier, will have more rear down force and less restrictor plate than in the past. Again, Physics 101: The cars
will be more strongly stuck to the track and have more power to pull out of a slide. This is absolutely going to be a better
race from a competition standpoint.
Beyond that there is
always driver error. As Elliot Sadler put it “'NASCAR makes us put three pedals in these cars. The middle one is the
brake”. NASCAR drivers are the best in the world. There are none better at handling the adversity presented by plate
tracks.
“They are still
ugly!”
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As mentioned in previous
articles, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but for sure, they look more like Smokey Yunick’s ‘66 Chevelle
or Dale Earnhardt’s ’87 Monte
Carlo than the 2007 car. We have cars that are closer to real race cars, responding to real-race car
changes, like springs, shocks, and sway bars, as opposed to cubic wind tunnel dollars.
After it all is said
and done, introducing the 2008 car at this point of the season is certainly a concern for the teams, there is no question.
But since the sanctioning
body insists on keeping the ridiculously steep banks at the end of very long straight-aways, two things are absolutely unarguable:
A. There will be crashes (not to be confused with “accidents”).
B. The 2008 car is safer, and tougher.
And that, race fans, is what
it is all about. There will be problems, but they will be ironed out in races to come, and there has to be a starting point.
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information.
This weekend, as they
fire the engines up, be thankful for not only the 2008 car, but for the newer daily driver in the front yard that protects
both us and our children.
When the invocation is
read this weekend, take a silent moment to be thankful for the Wisdom that was inherent in the judgment of Gary Nelson and
the men that created the Car of 2008 to keep our drivers safe, and to ask for the ultimate protection from Above for our drivers
as they prepare to run one of the most dangerous events of the year. Be sure not only to include the superstar on your list,
but the drivers you will soon cheer against as well.
Gentlemen, start your
less restricted engines! The 2008 car WILL shine at Talladega, dirty side up or not.
2006 StockCar Review.
