October 8, 2012
By Matthew Pizzolato
Matthew Pizzolato
|
This past Wednesday at Talladega Motor Speedway, NASCAR officials tested the next generation of the 'Car of Tomorrow' that will make its official debut next season.
All three manufacturers that will be in the Cup series next year were represented among seven drivers.
Both officials and drivers alike were pleased with the results the test session generated.
"With a different car, we'll look at what it's going to take for [restrictor] plate size and some other things, but the main concern is how the cars draft, how they react in the draft, and obviously to get more one-on-one racing,” Robin Pemberton, NASCAR vice president of competition was quoted as saying in a press release. "All of the input that we have from the drivers and the teams so far has been pretty good."
Jeff Burton led the session with a fastest lap of 196.649, but Kasey Kahne was right behind him with a lap of 196.411.
NASCAR is making several changes to the car, most notably will be a change to the roll cage that will make the cars safer for the drivers. Also, the new car will have more brand identity, similar to what is featured in the Nationwide Series this season.
One of the things tested was how the car reacted in the draft. Two car drafting was attempted and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., said that pairs of cars were eventually overtaken by single cars.
If such is the case, it would greatly improve racing at the restrictor plate tracks. No longer would drivers be delegated a "pushing" role at the end of races.
The vast majority of both fans and drivers strongly dislike the two-car draft that has become predominate in the series at both Daytona and Talladega. NASCAR has done several tests over the past couple of seasons trying to eliminate it. To some extent, they have been successful but the two-car draft is currently the fastest way around the restrictor plate tracks, so drivers always resort to it in the final laps and the car that is pushing has absolutely no chance at winning the race.
A change that would enable a single car to be faster than the two-car draft would be a huge step toward returning the racing at both Daytona and Talladega to the way it used to be.
"NASCAR's working really hard to make them drive better and make the races more exciting," Kasey Kahne was quoted as saying. "Right there, we had five or six of us out there and it was actually pretty dicey and pretty exciting. We're definitely going in the right direction and that's great from a drivers' standpoint because we're going to be able to race and pass more, and it's awesome from a fans standpoint because they're going to get a much better show all the time."
The current car has received a lot of criticism since it debuted. Most claim that it ruined the racing and NASCAR officials have been struggling to make changes to it ever since. Perhaps a totally redesigned car is the only way to fix it. However, if the results of the latest test session are any indication, NASCAR is definitely making much needed improvements.
The new car will make its official debut in the Daytona 500 on Febuary 24, 2013.
If you would like to learn more about Matthew, please check out his web site at matthew-pizzolato.com.
The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN.
You can contact Matthew Pizzolato at ..