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COT, one of the strangest vehicles in NASCAR history and one that has drawn significant criticism and ridicule.
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The car was developed largely in response to the 2001 Daytona 500 crash that killed NASCAR superstar Dale Earnhardt.
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Safety improvements included the repositioning of the driver’s seat closer to the center of the interior and ‘crush’ zones designed to absorb impact in crashes.
It wasn’t a good sign that the NASCAR Car of Tomorrow, five years in development, was described as “terrible” after its first race in March 2007 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Making this comment even more significant is the fact that it was made by none other than the winner of the race, Kyle Busch, who also expressed the opinion that the new cars “sucked.”
Thus began the long existence of the so-called COT, one of the strangest vehicles in NASCAR history and one that attracted considerable criticism and ridicule.
The car was developed largely in response to the 2001 Daytona 500 crash that killed NASCAR superstar Dale Earnhardt. Earnhardt’s death followed crashes that had killed Tony Roper, Kenny Irwin Jr. and Adam Petty, and the loss of the sports’ biggest star hastened calls for NASCAR to improve its safety protocols.
After years of engineering, design and testing, the COT debuted at the spring Bristol race in 2007. It was scheduled for about half of that year’s races before moving to full-time status in 2008.
The car carried a relatively short rear deck wing, a dramatic shift in car design for NASCAR. It was also “boxier” than the previous model. Safety improvements included the repositioning of the driver’s seat closer to the center of the interior and ‘crush’ zones designed to absorb impact in crashes.
In addition to safety improvements, the car was designed to improve competition and reduce team costs. Its design was four inches wider and two inches taller than the previous model.
The COT used common patterns between the manufacturers’ models and, according to many fans, this made it more difficult for the manufacturer to identify the cars.
The much-maligned spoiler disappeared in 2010, replaced by a more traditional spoiler. Nobody seemed to care.
The car’s safety improvements proved effective, perhaps no more so than in Michael McDowell’s violent high impact, multiple rollover crash at the Texas Motor Speedway in 2008. McDowell exited the wrecked car unscathed. There have been other large wrecks that have not produced significant injuries.
Ultimately, the car of tomorrow saw some gains and suffered some losses. It was better on some tracks, worse on others, and the drivers were constantly complaining about how badly the car handled in traffic, making overtaking very difficult. It didn’t help that, back in 2007, when teams tested the new model, driver Tony Stewart described it as a “flying brick.”
Engineers and mechanics were frustrated by the very limited window for innovation the car allowed, adding to the on-track frustrations of drivers who found themselves stuck in traffic jams with no realistic way out.
In 2013, a new model, the sixth generation car, left the Car of Tomorrow to take a rather dubious place in NASCAR history.
