What this “car of the future”?
June 7, 2009 in NASCAR
Did you know that you can save fuel and run your car on water
Chino asked:
I’m new to racing but i’ve heard of this “car of the future”, what is it about? Why do they need to test it for so long? Why do they need to change the cars from where they are at now?
Did you know that you can save fuel and run your car on water
The car of the future, like the internet, will run on tubes, not dump trucks. It’s speed and altitude will depend on your mood, and it will run on pollution, which may be short supply by then. The car of the future also washes your dishes and chases away Jehovah’s witnesses from your front door.
it’s supposed to be safer. they just want to see how safe it really is before the fans get to see it for the first time. to tell you the truth i’ve been in this sport since 94 and i don’t like it at all. i do think that they should have left the style of the car alone and still make the changes they needed to without changing the car too much
The car of tomorrow is Toyota, although Im personally not for it, they have to test it for while to make sure the aerodynamics and all the nitty gritty stuff is worked out before its debut in 2007. Its not a new thing to NASCAR for they have been in the truck races for a while now. They have some work to do.
The “Car of the Future” is more commonly called the “Car Of Tomorrow” (COT). The reason for the change as imposed by the sanctioning body of NASCAR is reportedly for driver safety and increased competitiveness in racing.
For the competitive features, the COT has some aerodynamic changes (Front splitter, steeper windshield, and rear wing) this is supposed to create more drag which will tighten the field of cars up for more side-by-side racing.
For the safety features; Seats closer to the centre of the vehicle, wider cars.
The need for extensive testing is because of the aerodynamic dependency of Cup cars to maintain grip in the corners. The whole chassis setup needs to be revamped to maximize the performance of the car. If it’s not set up properly, it will either spin out and crash, or have to be driven slower to maintain control of the car. Without sufficient testing NASCAR will sacrifice both the safety and competitiveness the COT is supposed to bring to Cup racing. Another reason for testing is because NASCAR has changed the template a couple of times. That has implications in the setup as previously mentioned but also in the fact that NASCAR’s vehicle inspection process is so stringent that a car could be disqualified from a race or have fines and points penalties levied against it if very minor variations are made from the COT template. Teams need time to retool their shops and be able to make cars cost-effectively.
As to whether or not it’s neccesary that is purely a matter of opinion. Many argue that the safety features can be incorporated into the current cars without messing with the aerodynamics. Others feel that the COT will bring parity to the field and will increase the racing excitement (So as to not allow one driver/team to drive away from the rest of the field).
The car of the future is actually named the Car of Tomorrow (COT). It is the brain child of Gary Nelson, who used to head NASCAR’s R&D facility. Basically, the car is designed to be wider, slower, with a larger greenhouse (cockpit), and with a wing instead of a normal spoiler. The drivers are also moved from right against the door, to the middle of the car to lessen driver side impact injuries. The motivation behind the COT is to slow down the cars for safety and to improve racing. It also is designed to put the race back into the driver’s hands and out of the head engineer’s hands back at the various race shops.
it’s taller and more boxier and i think it’s alittle shorter. at first it doesn’t look much different than today’s cars except for what i’ve just stated. the response from most drivers is that they don’t like it.
It has a wing not a sprolier. =]]
go to nascar.com it has all the answers you want.
its the new thingy
it’s crap, and NASCAR seems to think it will help the sport, I drive a stock car, so i understand the safety aspect of it, but now you taking NASCAR right out of it, taking the speed away, aerodynamics are going to crap, so much for seeing 200mph at Talledega. now we will be luck for 180mph, unless theres about 10 cars all bump drafting