Can somebody explain to me why NASCAR thought the Car Of Tomorrow was a good idea? I know the 'Stock' in NASCAR has been gone for some time, but at least before the CoT there was some pretense of the cars being different.
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David
The chief cause of failure in this life is giving up what you want most for what you want at the moment. -
The last car still had some templates based on a production car body... so there was squabbling between the various manufacturers that "brand xxxxx has more nose downforce than we do" or "brand yyyyy has less drag." NASCAR, in their constant attempt at parity, would end up snagging a car or two from teams representing each manufacturer and then wind tunnel testing them... trying to find any differences... then they'd tweak the rules for one manufacture a bit: things like "rear spoiler must be 6.5 inches for Ford, 6.25 for GM, etc." Those tweaks work differently at different tracks though so they never could get everybody satisfied.
A few years ago, in the truck series, NASCAR wanted to go to a totally common template setup. Toyota was just getting into trucks so, when NASCAR approved the final Toyota truck design, that became the "standard truck template" - or at least the basis for it. I don't know if that is still the one in use or not.
For the Cup series, NASCAR had a few goals in mind:
* More common templates to get rid of the manufacturer vs manufacturer squabbling.
* Safety - move the driver inboard, raise the roof a bit, define energy absorbing side panels, etc.
* Save the teams money - in theory - by changing the rules to specify a single wheelbase, wheel track, etc. Before there were allowable ranges so teams had cars customized for various tracks, or at least "super speedway cars" and "short track cars." The bodies were somewhat different, the wheelbases certainly were, etc. The big budget teams could afford this, the little teams couldn't keep up. Now NASCAR says "one car fits all tracks." The teams have still figured out tweaks though to tune the cars to different track types though the variations aren't very big - it is easy to make a "speedway" car a "short track" car too.
* More of the body is now subject to template inspection (check out the "claw" template NASCAR uses that fits over the whole car - it's no longer a bunch of long skinny 2-D templates - it's a big 3-D thing) so there is even less room for teams to monkey with the design. A few teams tried to tweak things in between the template points... and got fined heavily for it. NASCAR's message: don't mess with our spec car.
* Move the main radiator air intake to below the bumper to standarized that too. Most of the front end differences you see on the cars are stickers: headlights, the factory car's grill etc. They're even less "stock" then they were before when nose& tail templates had to somewhat match the real car.
* Get the front and rear bumpers to line up better so cars getting rear-ended weren't "lifted" as often.
The COT is far more a "spec car" than the prior NASCAR Cup car ever was - and that was pretty "spec" to begin with. NASCAR issues the lower front splitter panel and the rear wings, to the teams at the track - the teams do not make those parts themselves. Just to keep that stuff even more "spec." The whole car has to pass through a NASCAR test facility to have detailed measurements and inspections done before it's allowed to run on the track; if it gets damaged more than some specified amount it has to be re-inspected. That's why practice/qualifying crashes that used to mean "all nighters" for the crew instead mean "pull out the backup car" today - they probably could repair the car at the track but they can't run it until it's re-inspected and gets that special NASCAR sticker. Oh well.
My understanding of things anyway. NASCAR got their manufacturer parity, improved safety, and had their one-size-fits-all-tracks car. The teams have recently found legal ways to get around that last one a little bit. NASCAR fans have heard the driver complaints of getting the COT to handle, getting it to turn, etc. But it's equally bad for everyone I guess so we still have that ultimate goal of parity.
mpcLast edited by mpc; 06-09-2009, 11:57 PM. -
Kind of reminds me of when I went to the Indy 500 and saw Mario's turbine car conk out on the last lap. Oh, that's another story. NASCAR's always trying to do something different to create interest.Comment
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Because you want to drive 120+ down the highway.
She couldn't tell the difference between the escape pod, and the bathroom. We had to go back for her.........................Twice.Comment
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It is a lot different game since the day that the "King' showed at Daytona with a Super Bird and gave the rest of the field with a great view of that tall wing and the idea was to see which team could get the most power out of a car that had a minimum production run of 500 units.
I was never a big fan of NASCAR; my interest was more in drag racing. The same thing has happened on that side of racing. Funny Cars evolved from vehicles built to put on a show, like the 'Original Back-Up Pick-up' and the 'Little Red Wagon', by doing wheel stands for the entire 1/4 mile. Early funny cars were 'glass versions of stock bodies on a custom chassis. Anyone remember 'Jungle' Jim, The Blue Max, or the duels between Don 'The Snake' Prudhomme and Tom 'The Mongoose' McKewen? Now the size and shape of the bodies are regulated, in the interest of parity and safety, to the point that the similarities of the bodies to real cars are abstract in the shape and mostly achieved by a skilled painter.Don, aka Pappy,
Wise men talk because they have something to say,
Fools because they have to say something.
PlatoComment
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Yeah, gone are the days of race it on Sunday, sell it on Monday.
The short is answer is that the France family wants all control and doesn't have a clue of how to run NASCAR.
For more, much, much more on this, troll the pages (especially archives) of www.autoextremist.com 'Nuf said, go there if you want to know.A Man is incomplete until he gets married ... then he's FINISHED!!!Comment
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I love watching the old races. A lot of those cars still had the stock chrome trim. That '69 Dodge Daytona sure did prove to be a winner. I can't even recognize the cars now (pretty much the same on the street too).
The dragster that I always remember is that Willy's with Stone, Woods & Cook on the side.ErikComment
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In a few years they will start to clone the drivers too. That way no team has an advantage
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Back in the day Kyle Bush wouldn't have gotten away with his behavior or attitude. He would be spending most of his time on his head or scraping his car off the wall. NASCAR didn't play policeman the drivers did.
TomComment
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David
The chief cause of failure in this life is giving up what you want most for what you want at the moment.Comment
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The problem is NASCAR has more than one rule book. They decide which rule they want to enforce depending on the driver/owner/team.From the "deep south" part of Canada
Richard in Smithville
http://richardspensandthings.blogspot.com/Comment
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Mr. Internet Fact Checker says the turbine car was in the 1967 Indy 500, driven by Parnelli Jones, owned by Andy Granatelli of STP oil treatment fame.
Mario Andretti drove for the Granatelli STP team in 1969 when he finally won it for Granatelli in a conventionally-powered Lotus.
1967 INDY Gas Turbine Car
This 1967 Studebaker STP Special was built by Andy Granatelli. The side engine racer was driven by Parnelli Jones. In the 200 mile race (500 miles) at The Brickyard, Car #40 lead 171 laps. On the 197th lap, it suffered a gear box failure ($6.00 part) and eventually finished sixth. What might have been the impact on automobiles had the gas turbine-driven car actually won the race? You can see the racer in the museum in Indianapolis. The next year, "the powers that be" changed the rules to make the use of the gas turbine untenable in INDY car racing.Last edited by LCHIEN; 06-12-2009, 07:01 AM.
Loring in Katy, TX USA
If your only tool is a hammer, you tend to treat all problems as if they were nails.
BT3 FAQ - https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/di...sked-questionsComment
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