This is the third part in my series on how to make NASCAR more exciting. Read Part 1 and Part 2 first.
Car of Tomorrow….Today.
The COT has done exactly it’s primary purpose, and that’s increase the safety of the drivers. Since it was introduced a couple years ago though, it hasn’t made racing any more exciting. The new car and car rules take away some of the things that the teams used to do mechanically and body wise. I’m hoping that will change as the teams learn more about the cars and try new things. If NASCAR were to allow the teams more leeway, it certainly would allow a greater range of possibilities and the teams could set up their cars in more ways, meaning more variety on the track.
One of the problems with the new car is the common template. Fan’s can’t relate to it. It looks nothing like anything on the streets today, and certainly very little like the nameplates on the front from the four different manufacturers. Only the front headlights area looks like the model. They need to make changes over the next years so that fans can continue to get behind a particular manufacturer, or over time they will care less about it. From the other side, you have the car manufacturers in financial trouble. If they feel that NASCAR isn’t bringing them any new sales, they’ll be more likely to drop support for the series. This may not hurt the bigger teams, but the smaller teams need the research that the manufacturers provide.