Tomorrow coming early: Drivers to test new car at Dover on Tuesday

By Chris Gasiewski, Delaware State News
DOVER — It’s been bashed by numerous NASCAR Nextel Cup drivers.The criticism of the Car of Tomorrow boiled over after last month’s Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Speedway. The consensus — the car doesn’t handle.“Definitely at Phoenix, I was yelling about the car, too,” Greg Biffle said during a testing session at Lowe’s Motor Speedway last week. “You know, I hated it but nobody wanted to listen to me because I finished 19th or 20th, just barely. But I was miserable. It’s just a work in progress, I guess.”The only team that has no qualms with the COT are the teams of Hendrick Motorsports — and rightfully so. Hendrick has won all five COT races this season prior to today’s Dodge Avenger 500 at Darlington Raceway.In effort to balance the field, testing NASCAR’s new and safer ride has kept teams busy around the circuit. Their next stop is Dover International Speedway where a day of testing is set for Tuesday. The COT will be raced at the June and September races at the one-mile, high-banked oval.
Due to the postponement of Saturday night’s race at Darlington until today, the Dover testing session was shortened from two days to just Tuesday.The testing session will be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The gates will be open for fans to check the COT out firsthand.“It’s really a great opportunity for fans to come out and see the Car of Tomorrow,” Dover speedway spokesman Gary Camp said. “Some of the drivers are saying it’s the first time it will be tested aerodynamically. It’s a neat opportunity for the fans to go to the track before race weekend.”The COT is the fresh design that NASCAR instilled in the Nextel Cup Series for 16 events this season with expectations of running the car entirely in 2008.Initially intended to keep the playing field level and allow struggling teams to run with the stars of the sport, that hasn’t been the result.
Instead, Hendrick drivers Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson all have won a COT race. Johnson polished off his second COT victory in the new ride a week ago at Richmond.“I think we have had a good start, although if you’re a realist, you’ve got to look at the fact that Tony (Stewart) probably would have won Bristol had he not had a problem,” Hendrick said. “You know, Martinsville, we were really good there. Then Phoenix, we did a good job there.“It’s been a good start for us.”Drivers often complain that the COT is difficult to turn in the corners since its initial run at Bristol. Busch said after winning the inaugural race that “it sucked,” when asked about the car.But even with the complaints, Dover will present a different animal than what the COT has been run on.“Dover will be the place where (aerodynamic differences) shows up,” said Ford driver Carl Edwards. “Dover is fast enough. I think that it’s finicky enough to get the handling just right and that’s where this car is going to be really tough.”Kurt Busch agrees with Edwards that the COT will be free at Dover.“Dover is the place where I expect the greatest difference in driving from the Car of Tomorrow vs. a regular car, just because of the speed and the high-speed banking at Dover,” he said.Perhaps Hendrick is one up on the rest because of extensive testing.Not even Roush Fenway Racing, which won six races and had all five drivers in the Chase for the Nextel Cup in 2006, or Richard Childress Racing, which had two drivers finish in the top 10 in points last year, have been on Hendrick’s pace.
The playing field hasn’t been leveled yet. So the focus for teams trailing is to do their research. But how long will it take?“They say that Hendricks have almost 100 days of testing in the COT car,” said Biffle, who drives for Roush Fenway. “I don’t know if that’s true or not … We’ve spent nine days testing.“It’s not the great equalizer that everyone expected in the beginning. You know, we’ve won championships. So it’s hard to justify yourself to say, gosh, that’s what we need.”...
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