Car of Tomorrow. Car of Today. COT. Slot car. Ugly. Terrible.Pick one or pick 'em all. They were and still continue to be widely-used descriptions of the new race car that NASCAR unveiled for limited use in 2007.
In 2008, the next-generation race car, makes its first foray into the full-time world of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racing. And for heaven sakes, can we finally avoid referring to the car as a sleeping location or as the Car of Today because that frankly isn't funny.
Anyways...
Many are worried that 2008 will bring a new era to NASCAR racing that can only lead in one direction that isn't up. They worry about the handling of the car, the lack of adjustment, drivers not understanding the cars, and the overall appearance of the new model. Those combined, say the naysayers, will lead to terrible racing and lower TV ratings.
Since when, though, has NASCAR ever truly been about the technology involved?
Never, really. It's always been about the characters involved, from the good guy to the bad guy, to the guy who wins all the time or the guy that has the best interviews.
Has the way a race car drove or looked played a role in that? Sure it has, but by and far, the big story behind the machines is the people that drive and work on them. Need a good example? Look no further than Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s old No. 8 car.
How many people will avidly buy a No. 8 Mark Martin die-cast? I'll go out on a limb and say fans will buy a couple more No. 88 die-casts in 2008. It's not about the car, it's about the character.
So what's that mean for the next-generation car? People just need to get over the change.
The car has proven to be faster at Las Vegas than last year's model and is destined to put on a crazy show at Daytona starting with this weekend's Budweiser Shootout and rounding out with the Daytona 500.
Teams are learning how to adapt the new cars handling characteristics to their drivers, and while that may be primarily through computer simulations, that change was already making its way to the old model cars.
In the end, the new race cars are simply going to prove very effective and exciting for the 2008 season. It's still 43 drivers driving to be the first one to reach a destination hundreds of miles away.
It may be ugly, but its still NASCAR, and the racing will still be exciting.
Enjoy 2008, y'all.
