 | |
| Category | NASCAR Cup Series |
|---|---|
| Constructor |  ChevroletDodgeFord Toyota |
| Predecessor | Generation 4 |
| Successor | Generation 6 |
| Technical specifications | |
| Length | 206 in (523.2 cm) |
| Width | 78.5 in (199.4 cm) |
| Height | 53 in (134.6 cm) |
| Wheelbase | 110 in (279.4 cm) |
| Engine | 90°pushrodV-8 358 cubic inches (5,870 cc)naturally-aspirated FR layout |
| Transmission | 4-speed manual |
| Weight | 3,450 pounds (1,560 kg) (Gen 5) 3,250 lbs (Gen 6 Sprint Cup) 3,200 lbs (Xfinity) |
| Fuel | Sunoco 260Gtx 98 octane race fuel: 2007–2011 Sunoco Green E15 98 octane race fuel: 2011–2012 |
| Tires | Goodyear |
| Competition history | |
| Debut | March 25, 2007 (2007 Food City 500) |
| Last event | November 18, 2012 (2012 Ford 400) |
TheCar of Tomorrow[1] (CoT) was the common name used for the chassis of theNASCAR Cup Series (2007 – 2012)[2] andXfinity Series (since 2011 full-time) race cars. The car was part of a five-year project to create a safer vehicle following several deaths in competition, particularlythe crash at the2001 Daytona 500 that killedDale Earnhardt.[3]
Used as the fifth generation car style for the Cup Series, the original Car of Tomorrow body design was larger and boxier than the design it replaced, and criticized for its generic appearance and poor handling characteristics.[4] The CoT, however, implemented dramatic safety improvements, cost less to maintain, and was intended to make for closer competition.[5]
The car was introduced in the2007 Cup Series season at theFood City 500 on March 25 and ran a partial schedule of 16 races.[6] The plan was to require all teams to use the new car in 2009, but NASCAR officials moved the date up to the2008 season as a cost-saving measure.[7] The Car of Tomorrow body style was retired by NASCAR after the2012 Ford EcoBoost 400.[8] Thesixth-generation car, which featured the additional chassis safety improvements as well as improved body designs, debuted in 2013;[5] many teams simply removed the CoT car bodies, added the new chassis safety improvements, and installed a sixth-generation car body.[9] The chassis was used until the end of the2021 season before eventually replaced with theNext Gen car in2022.[10]
In 2010, theXfinity Series (then the Nationwide Series) debuted its own version of the CoT in a partial schedule, using the same chassis but different bodies and a shorter wheelbase; teams could take old Sprint Cup cars, change the bodies, and run them in the Nationwide Series, provided they passed recertification.[11] The car was required for full-time competition in 2011. No deaths have occurred inNASCAR Cup Series competition since the Car of Tomorrow was introduced.
On January 11, 2006, NASCAR revealed the Car of Tomorrow, also referred to as the "Car of the Future" during its development,[12] after a five-year design program sparked mainly by thedeath of Dale Earnhardt Sr. in a final-lap crash during the2001 Daytona 500.[3][13] During the prior season, three drivers (Adam Petty,Kenny Irwin Jr. andTony Roper) had perished in on-track accidents.[14][15] The then-current cars were based on a design byHolman Moody first used for the 1966Ford Fairlane.[16] The primary design considerations for the new car were "safety innovations, performance and competition, and cost efficiency for teams."[17][18]
The CoT incorporated several safety improvements in comparison to the older car.[13] The driver's seat was moved four inches toward the center, and theroll cage shifted three inches to the rear, while the car was designed two inches taller and four inches wider.[13][18][19] Largercrumple zones, designed to absorb impact energy, and impact absorbing foam were built into the car on both sides.[18][19] Replacing the front valance was an adjustablesplitter, a piece offiber-reinforced plastic (FRP, "fiberglass") used on the bottom front of the car to produce downforce.[19] The car's exhaust exits on the right (passenger) side, which diverts heat from the driver.[13][19] The fuel cell was strengthened using thicker material, with a smaller capacity 17.75 US gallons (67.2 L), down from 22 US gallons (83 L), which as of 2007 had become standard in all cars.[18][20]
NASCAR officials initially claimed the car was less dependent on aerodynamics, comparing its performance to the trucks of theCraftsman Truck Series.[21] It initially featured a detached wing, which had not been used since theDodge Charger Daytona andPlymouth Superbird in 1970, in place of a rear spoiler.[19][22] The windshield was more upright to prevent collapse in the event of a rollover, with the added effect of increased drag.[18][19] The radiator air intake was placed below the front bumper of the car, to reduce overheating caused by debris-clogged grilles.[19] The front bumper itself was more box-like and the front airdam was gapped, as opposed to being a flush piece on the older cars, to reduce aerodynamics and slow down the cars.[19]
All cars were required to fit the same set oftemplates (with minor differences between the makes), using a laser inspection system (LIS)[23] device nicknamed "the claw" that was designed to fit over the new cars.[18][24][25][26] In the first two races at Bristol andMartinsville Speedway, the garages were opened one day early and the inspections took up to 10 hours so that everyone (teams, officials, etc.) could get a better grip on the new unified template.[25] NASCAR's old rules had a different set of templates for each manufacturer (Ford, Chevrolet, Dodge, and Toyota).[18][24] During the CoT era, NASCAR attempted to eliminate "gray area" and ambiguity within the rule book, and frequently adjusted the rules to ensure that different car manufacturers have relatively equal cars;[18] one such instance of rule book changes against gray areas occurred after the2008 Sprint All-Star Challenge, in whichSam Hornish, Jr. ran a car with skewed setup to finish second in the Showdown and advance to the All-Star Race,[27] as well in 2012 afterHendrick Motorsports' teams ran with skewed sway bars to win five races during the spring portion of the season.[28] With the transition to the Generation 6 car, the claw continues to be used along with manufacturer-specific templates[24] until 2018, when both was replaced by the laser-based Optical Scanning System (OSS).[29]
On January 15, 2010, Cup Series director John Darby informed teams that NASCAR would transition back to the spoiler, to increase downforce and prevent airborne accidents the rear wing was believed to cause.
Although initially branded as theMonte Carlo SS (the same as the Generation 4 model), Chevrolet's Car of Tomorrow debuted as theImpala SS (later the Impala). After using theCharger name on the old car since 2005,Dodge utilized theAvenger name on the CoT, coinciding with the model's reintroduction into the production market. However, for 2008 the Charger name returned for use on the CoT.[30]Ford continued to use theFusion model whileToyota continued to use theCamry.
This chart lists the CoT's dimensions compared with the dimensions of their production car counterparts.
| Model | Length | Width | Height | Wheelbase | Weight* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ford Fusion | 190.6 in (4,841 mm) | 72.2 in (1,834 mm) | 56.9 in (1,445 mm) | 107.4 in (2,728 mm) | 3,101 lb (1,407 kg) |
| Chevrolet Monte Carlo[31] | 200.7 in (5,098 mm) | 72.5 in (1,842 mm) | 51 in (1,295 mm) | 110 in (2,794 mm) | 3,400 lb (1,542 kg) |
| Chevrolet Impala SS | 200.4 in (5,090 mm) | 72.9 in (1,852 mm) | 58.7 in (1,491 mm) | 110.5 in (2,807 mm) | 3,711 lb (1,683 kg) |
| Dodge Charger | 200.1 in (5,083 mm) | 74.4 in (1,890 mm) | 58.2 in (1,478 mm) | 120 in (3,048 mm) | 3,820 lb (1,733 kg) |
| Dodge Avenger | 190.9 in (4,849 mm) | 71.8 in (1,824 mm) | 58.9 in (1,496 mm) | 108.9 in (2,766 mm) | 3,405 lb (1,544 kg) |
| Toyota Camry | 189.2 in (4,806 mm) | 71.7 in (1,821 mm) | 57.9 in (1,471 mm) | 110.3 in (2,802 mm) | 3,263 lb (1,480 kg) |
| Holden Commodore SS-V Redline (Chevrolet SS) | 192.68 in (4,894 mm) | 74.76 in (1,899 mm) | 58.11 in (1,476 mm) | 114.76 in (2,915 mm) | 3,902 lb (1,770 kg) |
| NASCAR CoT | 206 in (5,232 mm) | 78.5 in (1,994 mm) | 53 in (1,346 mm) | 110 in (2,794 mm) | 3,200 lb (1,451 kg) excluding driver, fuel, fluids and seats; 3,400 lb (1,542 kg) including driver, fuel, fluids and seats |
*Weight displays the curb weight of the least expensive trim level available for model year 2008 unless otherwise specified. TheHolden Commodore listed is a 2012 VE model with a V8 and manual transmission (which road-cars were imported for the US market). The VF Commodore debuted for the 2014 model year in early 2013 as theChevrolet SS.
The Car of Tomorrow was first tested in December 2005 atAtlanta Motor Speedway. Next it tested at the 2.5-mileDaytona International Speedway, then on NASCAR's two shortest tracks,Bristol (0.533 mi) andMartinsville (0.526 mi.), the 1.5-mileCharlotte Motor Speedway, the 2.66 mileTalladega Superspeedway, and 2.0-mileMichigan International Speedway. Former NASCAR driver, and former Cup Series pace car driver and Director of Cost ResearchBrett Bodine also tested the prototype car against cars prepared by current NASCAR teams.[19]
Drivers tested the CoT concurrently with the old car at some NASCAR tests and at special NASCAR-authorized sessions. Other testing sessions occurred at the half-mileGreenville-Pickens Speedway, Caraway Speedway inAsheboro, NC, and the one-mileNorth Carolina Speedway (now Rockingham Speedway), none of which were Cup Series tracks at the time (North Carolina Speedway was a regular venue until 2005), and therefore did not fall under NASCAR's restrictions.
The Car of Tomorrow was first raced at the2007 Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway, the season's fifth race.[25] The tracks that saw the CoT twice in 2007 besides Bristol and Martinsville International Speedway werePhoenix Raceway,Richmond Raceway,Dover International Speedway, andNew Hampshire Motor Speedway. Other than Talladega (for the fall event),Darlington Raceway and the road course races atSonoma Raceway andWatkins Glen (N.Y.) International ran the CoT once each in 2007.
Original implementation plans called for the CoT to be used at 26 events in 2008, starting with both races at Daytona, including the season-openingDaytona 500 and related events (Budweiser Shootout andGatorade Duels),the spring race at Talladega and Michigan, both races atAuto Club Speedway,Pocono Raceway and the event atIndianapolis Motor Speedway. Based on the success of the February 28 test at Bristol, NASCAR considered requiring the CoT for the full schedule in 2008 in order to avoid applying two sets of rules (as supported by a survey of NASCAR owners, with 80% favoring the switch), adding all three events (including theall-star event) at Charlotte Motor Speedway, as well as both races at Atlanta andTexas Motor Speedway, and single races atChicagoland Speedway,Kansas Speedway,Las Vegas Motor Speedway andHomestead-Miami Speedway one year earlier than scheduled.[13] This was confirmed on Tuesday, May 22, 2007, by NASCAR. Had NASCAR continued with the original schedule of implication, the other tracks would have been added in 2009.[32] Apparently 2008 was not going to be when the CoT would make its debut. It was initially going to debut in mid to late 2005, and possibly 2004 according to NASCAR's R&D at the time. But the tests with this version plus negative driver comments led to the creation of the splitter and the wing, thus delaying implementation until 2007.
On March 25, 2007, the CoT debuted in its first NASCAR-sanctioned race.Kyle Busch won the race, the first win for theChevrolet Impala sinceWendell Scott's historic race in 1963.
Reactions to the CoT's performance were mixed.Dale Earnhardt Jr., after finishing 7th, said, "It wasn't a disaster like everybody anticipated. It worked out, I reckon. Racing was about the same."[33] Drivers were also impressed with the car's ability to bump other competitors without causing a spin (bumper heights were equalized due to street car development, and nose-to-rear bumper contact caused spins that pre-1988 cars would not cause), and NASCAR officials were pleased with the improvements in safety.
Several drivers and pundits expressed distaste for the car and what they perceived as a less exciting style of racing created by it. Kyle Busch, despite winning at Bristol, commented that "they suck" during his victory lane interview.[34] Retired driver and TV analystRusty Wallace stated on ESPN that the car created a boring, single-file racing environment with little of the passing, action, or crashing that has made NASCAR popular, though after NASCAR announced the CoT would run the full schedule, he stated that it was "one of the best decisions NASCAR had ever made." Drivers who placed well at Bristol,Jeff Gordon andJeff Burton, claimed that the car allowed the use of a second passing lane not usually present at Bristol.[33]
A major problem with the car's initial race was its front splitter. One car's splitter running into the tire of another car beside it sometimes punctured the second car's tire.[35] There were no problems with the splitter causing tire failure at the car's second race.
Another major problem was that the safety foam used in the side of the car would catch fire, engulfing the driver's cockpit with smoke. NASCAR decided to make modifications before the April 21Subway Fresh Fit 500 inAvondale, Arizona.[36] An additional side effect of the foam occurred during side-impacts, asBrian Vickers experienced atWatkins Glen, when the foam would be sheared out of the car leaving debris on the racetrack.
During the2007 UAW-Ford 500, the CoT's debut on asuperspeedway track atTalladega, NASCAR assigned a31⁄32 inch (25 mm)restrictor plate to allow the engines to run at around 8,800 RPM due to the less aerodynamic design of the CoT. The previous generation car's engine would normally run around 7,000 RPM with a7⁄8 inch (22 mm) plate.[37] This was the most open restrictor plate (in terms of air flow) to race at Talladega since 1988.[38]
Criticisms of the CoT began with its first tests, with the magazineSpeedway Illustrated noting the car's poor performance in traffic (February 2006 issue). TheWinston-Salem Journal also noted extensive criticism of the project during 2006 testing, with drivers becoming more vocal by July 2007 and most fans rejecting the model, citing the falsity of many of its technical claims;[39] one angle of criticism was the differing philosophies of NASCAR officials Gary Nelson and John Darby, with Darby a particularly ardent supporter of the CoT based on a misreading of the sport's competition packages.[40]Jeff Gordon andMatt Kenseth were pointedly critical of the car's poor performance in traffic, with Gordon stating after the2007 New England 300, "I'd like to know who it was who said this car would reduce theaeropush because I could have told you from when I first drove this car that it would be worse."[41]Kyle Busch, who won the very first race with the car at Bristol in 2007, proclaimed that the car "sucks" afterward and expanded on this criticism at Dover in 2008 in noting how the CoT was "hitting a wall of air" in the wake of a leading car, thus neutralizing ability to close up on leaders.[42]
On April 4, 2008, while in a qualifying run for the2008 Samsung 500 atTexas Motor Speedway,Michael McDowell's right-front sway bar broke, causing him to lose control of his car and strike the wall outside of Turn 1 head-on at 185 MPH.[43] McDowell's car subsequently barrel-rolled eight times as fire came from the engine compartment and came to a stop at the exit of Turn 2. McDowell emerged from the Toyota unharmed. The car, along with theSAFER barrier on the track wall, was praised for its safety, as the speed upon impact of the crash was about 30 miles an hour more thanDale Earnhardt's fatal accident.[5]
In the2008 Brickyard 400, the longest run under green flag conditions was 12 laps due to extreme wear on right-side tires, especially the right rear. The CoT, in its first use atIndianapolis Motor Speedway, created no improvement of the conditions on the track, which is well known for its rough surface. The lack of downforce on the car and its highercenter of gravity created conditions that made it very hard on the right side tires. During the race, the tires used on the cars generally lasted no more than 10 laps at a time.[44]
It has been claimed that the bulky rear wing that was affixed to the rear of the car from 2007 to early 2010 increased the severity of many on-track incidents by causing cars to flip over or go airborne at high speeds.
These three accidents – as well as the general consensus that the wing made the car look like a sports car rather than a stock car[5] – were factors in NASCAR's eventual decision, in February 2010, to replace the wing with a more traditional rear spoiler starting at Martinsville in late March.[47] Denny Hamlin won the first race with the new/old spoiler, beating out Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth.
For the 2011 season, the car's splitter and nose configuration were redesigned: the splitter's braces were removed, and the splitter was made nonadjustable. The nose as a whole was given a cleaner, rounder look that resembled that of NASCAR's previous model (now dubbed thefourth-generation car) and manufacturers were given free rein to construct the lower grille area to reflect that of their NASCAR models' production-car counterparts. In the past, all cars were required to run the same exact grille arrangement, allowing for very little, if any, real differentiation between them.[5]
The first racing with the redesigned car was the2011 Daytona 500 and its supporting races (Budweiser Shootout andGatorade Duels), all held on brand new pavement forDaytona International Speedway. The Daytona 500 broke long-standing records for leaders and lead changes, as 22 drivers changed the lead 74 times. It also saw a first time winner, rookieTrevor Bayne, go to victory lane.[5] But the story of the new car was a phenomenon of lock-bumper superdrafts – two cars would literally lock together and push into a clear lead, with speeds up to 10 MPH faster than with a conventional draft (on numerous occasions 2-car superdrafts topped 206 MPH); this phenomenon had debuted atTalladega Superspeedway in the spring of 2008 whenDenny Hamlin discovered he could pushKevin Harvick all the way around the track during practice, resulting in a lap time about a half a second faster than the rest of the field. Hamlin used the move multiple times in that race to get the lead, and by the next spring the technique was used by the majority of the field throughout the entire race. The phenomenon also led to a new level of "team" racing reminiscent of the team orders ethos common toFormula One; drivers would communicate with each other over radio to coordinate "swaps" instead of actually fighting for position. This was present in the2011 Aaron's 499 at Talladega, leading to a three-wide finish with three drafting teams contending for the win:Clint Bowyer (pushed byKevin Harvick),Jeff Gordon (who was being pushed byMark Martin, but separated before the finish line), and winnerJimmie Johnson (pushed byDale Earnhardt Jr.), who won by two-thousandths of a second over Bowyer. A fourth drafting team, consisting of Roush-Fenway teammates Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle (Biffle was pushing), squeezed in between the Bowyer/Harvick tandem and the wall, but only finishing 6th (Edwards) and 7th (Biffle).
Dale Earnhardt Jr. and veteran drivers such asRichard Petty andDavid Pearson were sharply critical of this new style of racing, especially in the wake of a race-record sixteen caution flags, most of them for crashes caused when pushing cars spun out leaders; Earnhardt Jr. himself crashed during an attempt at agreen-white-checker finish in the 500.
To dissuade the two-car tandem and return to pack racing, a new superspeedway package was introduced for the 2012 season, including a curved spoiler and a lower and longer rear bumper. The tandem remained prevalent in the Nationwide Series until 2014, when pushing was prohibited after a massive crash at the end of the2013 DRIVE4COPD 300, in which 28 spectators were injured by flying debris off ofKyle Larson's airborne car. In the same year,fuel injection replaced the carburetor as the fuel distribution system.[48]
In spite of strong criticisms of the CoT's handling characteristics and the racing styles it created, it also produced one of the most competitive periods of time in NASCAR history. the first four CoT races in 2007 produced more "quality passes" (a pass of a top-15 car under green-flag conditions) than their 2006 counterparts.[49] From 2007 to 2012, 28 different drivers scored a victory (in 196 races), including several first-time winners.[5]
Following the elimination of the CoT in 2013, NASCAR Chairman and CEOBrian France identified the model as his biggest failure as the head of the sport due to the lack of manufacturer identity.[4][50]
For 2013, NASCAR allowed manufacturers to design a brand-new body style for the COT chassis that resembled a given production car even more.[51] The changes were largely cosmetic, with hopes of returning mechanical grip to drivers. At the 2012Ford Championship Weekend the body of the car made it the Gen 6 car byNASCAR. During the 2012 season, it was announced that Ford would use the Mk.VFord Mondeo, known as the Fusion in the Americas,Toyota would continue to use the 2013Camry, while theHolden VF Commodore, rebadged in North America as the Chevrolet Super Sport (SS), replaced theChevrolet Impala[52] andDodge announced they would use theCharger. However, soon after, Dodge announced their withdrawal from the sport, after being unable to convince other teams to switch to Dodge to replacePenske Racing (which returned to Ford).[53]
Key among the changes for the car included a carbon fibre hood and decklid, shaving 160 pounds from Cup cars, and new improved safety bars added to the roll cage. The roof flaps were increased in size to prevent the airborne accidents that marked the CoT's early life.[54]
This new "Generation 6" racecar debuted at the2013 Daytona 500 and its supporting races. The testing and design of the car began in May 2010 and involved an unusual level of cooperation between the manufacturers (Chevrolet,Ford, andToyota) involved.[55] The 500 and subsequent race atPhoenix Raceway, however, caused controversy, as passing was limited and drivers such asBrad Keselowski andDenny Hamlin were critical of the car's ability to pass; the controversy was exacerbated when NASCAR fined Hamlin $25,000 over his comments.[56] The view was also expressed that the car's slow development time and lack of available parts made drivers reluctant to take chances, with improvement expected with more time invested into the car.[57]
The Generation 6 car was succeeded by theNext Gen car in 2022.
The Nationwide Series (now Xfinity Series) debuted its own version of the CoT in July 2010 atDaytona International Speedway, running four races that season before fully implementing the car in 2011.[58] The Xfinity car used the same chassis as the Cup Series, but featured an extended wheelbase of 110 inches (280 cm). The second-tier series also utilizes different body style, primarily marketing Americanpony cars such as theFord Mustang.[59][60]
In 2015,NASCAR's regional series, the then-K&N Pro Series East andWest along with theARCA Racing Series (which NASCAR purchased in 2018, followed with rebranding of the East and West Series under the ARCA banner in 2020), the final series to still use the Generation 4 style body, introduced a new body style based on the Generation 6 Cup Series cars. Unlike the Generation 6 cars, the K&N Pro Series/ARCA car continues to use a front valence instead of a splitter. Again, three bodies are available—the Camry, Commodore/SS, and Fusion;[61][62][63] these cars continue to use be based on their 2013-spec body styles even with changes to their Cup Series counterparts. In 2022, a Ford Mustang bodystyle (based on the 2021 Generation 6 body) also became available.
| Manufacturer | Chassis | Usage | Image |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chevrolet | Impala | 2010 - 2012 |  |
| Impala SS | 2007 - 2009 | .jpg) | |
| Dodge | Avenger | 2007 | .jpg) |
| Charger | 2008 - 2012 | .jpg) | |
| Ford | Fusion | 2007- 2012 | |
| Toyota | Camry | 2007 - 2012 | .jpg) |
| Chairmen and presidents | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Major national racing series | |||||||||
| NASCAR Regional |
| ||||||||
| International series |
| ||||||||
| Online racing series |
| ||||||||
| Former series |
| ||||||||
| Television and radio | |||||||||
| Lists | |||||||||
| Topics | |||||||||
.jpg)
