After years of research and development NASCAR will begin next year to implement the Nationwide Series Car of Tomorrow, amidst much fan fare and owner fall out. The cars which include at least one new pony car (the model starts with a C) will add a new dynamic to the series which appears to be on its last legs. Despite the effort to revitalize the series NASCAR is only furthering to drive it into the ground.

First and foremost, I think this goes without saying but a safer NASCAR is a better NASCAR. Fortunately in an about face, NASCAR for, perhaps the first time in history, is working to make proactive safety changes. They are not waiting for the death of another NASCAR super star like Joe Weatherly, Fireball Roberts, or Dale Earnhardt to make obviously necessary changes. The Car of Tomorrow (or rather Today) has a larger greenhouse, much more downforce to keep the car on the ground, a more centralized cockpit and they are generally slower than previous cars. They allow drivers like Jeff Gordon to walk away from a hard hit at Las Vegas or Michael McDowell at Texas. Since the death of Dale Earnhardt in 2001 NASCAR has become committed to the safety of their drivers and that is evident from the time and money that they have dedicated to research. In a series of articles NASCAR.com did last week NASCAR technical director Steve Peterson said “Fifteen years ago, you were working hard on things that would stop career-ending injuries. Ten years ago, you were working on things that would keep a driver out of the car for the next race, four or five weeks. Today, you’re working on keeping the bumps and bruises out. He doesn’t even want to feel pain.” That is a positive and encouraging statement about the future of safety within the sport.

The real game changer, or face changer of the Nationwide COT is the fact that NASCAR wants to incorporate the new pony cars that have been rolled out, or are being rolled out, by the big three manufacturers. Toyota has said that because their sedan models all look so similar it is pointless for them to change the model, so they are opting to continue use of the Camry. It has been rumored, and I will say I know at least one of these will be used, that the Camaro and the Challenger will be joining the NASCAR lineup. This will add a new dimension to the typically drab model lineup we see in the cup series.  

In my post the other day The Cost of Doing Business I discussed the cost of the implementation of the COT in the Sprint Cup Series. Owners complained when NASCAR tried to the phase in the COT, and they complained when they were having to sell cars for pennies on the dollar to ARCA teams. NASCAR was damned either way, but the dilemma of big time owners is now being passed onto independents. Todd Braun told Scene Daily the other day that he is considering selling his team because of the immense cost of a switchover to the car of tomorrow. Dale Earnhardt Jr. even said that he is considering switching his team to the cup series. He said the move would be too expensive, and since they are going to be building a COT anyways, why not move up a series. My guess is, the two are not alone in their sentiments. This move could prove fatal for the series which has been struggling the last several seasons to work in the capacity that it was made for, as a development series. The large number of small teams in Nationwide would surely be crushed by the enormous cost of building an entirely new fleet of cars. Brett Bodine says they are committed to keeping costs low, but that just isn’t the case. It is a shame that in the pursuit of safety NASCAR would crush the teams that make up the heart of the sport.

Safety should be a paramount goal of the sanctioning body, however NASCAR needs to find a middle ground if the drastic safety changes mean they are going to push out small teams. The Nationwide Series is gasping for air and NASCAR is only breath that can save it.

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