July 4, 2010
By Kim Roberson
Kim Roberson
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Four years ago, NASCAR introduced the Sprint Cup Series "Car of Tomorrow". The car was promoted as being safer, cheaper, and an equalizer among teams in the Sprint Cup garage, regardless of the size or funding of the team.
While the car is indeed extremely safe, it hasn't necessarily been cheaper, or much of an equalizer. The fans hated it because it "didn't look like a street car" and was "ugly" or "boxy".
This weekend, NASCAR introduced the all-new Nationwide series car. When the idea of replacing the Nationwide Series car was introduced not long after the COT took the track, there was an outcry by fans that they didn't want this car to look like the Cup car. Sure, make it safe, but don't make it ugly -- and make it look like a REAL car, not just a car with a nameplate and manufacturer logo.
NASCAR listened, as did at least two of the manufacturers, and the Ford Mustang and Dodge Challenger made their debut, along with new Nationwide versions of the Toyota Camry and Chevrolet Impala, in Daytona on Friday -- the first of four races with this new car in 2010.
So, what is different about the new car, besides the Mustang and Challenger looks? Let’s start at the front and work to the back.
The nose of the car is wider than the current Nationwide car, and the headlight area is more vertical, which increases the drag on the car at high speeds. Oh, and it also allows the manufacturers more room for detail on the appearance of the car. If you look at the cars, you will see the Challenger and Mustang have the front of their noses cut out a bit to match the headlight and grill design on the street car, while the Impala and Camry have a much smaller cut out where the "grill" is and the smooth curve on the sides where the headlights are located.
Photo by Kim Roberson
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Dodge Challenger / Chevrolet Impala
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The cockpit of the car is much like the current Cup car. The area between the driver and door is wider which, and drivers have more head room and larger side windows to make it easier for the tall drivers (like Michael McDowell) to get into and out of the car in an emergency.
The rear deck lid of the car is mounted higher to help with front to rear stability. The new spoiler is fixed at 70-degrees, which controls rear downforce.
The wheelbase is longer by five inches, making it 110 inches -- the same as the Cup car.
So far, the drivers -- both Nationwide-only and print Cup drivers who also run the NW series -- have enjoyed the new car. "It's really a neat looking race car. Climbing in and out of it, you realize how much more comfortable it is from a driver's standpoint to have more room in the safety aspects of it," commented Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 33 Kevin Harvick Incorporated Chevy Impala, Friday before the race. "The cars move around and slide around a lot. I'm really excited about the new car."
The looks and comfort aren't the only things that Harvick is excited about with the new car. "The best part about it is that 18 car won't have those (old) cars to race anymore, so hopefully we can close that competition gap on the Nationwide side and close that up a little bit."
Photo by Kim Roberson
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Ford Mustang / Toyota Camry
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Brendan Gaughan, driver of the No. 62 Toyota Camry for Rusty Wallace Racing, says the cars remind him of something he raced almost a decade ago. "It reminds me of the 2002 or 2003 Camping World trucks in the way they handle on the track, the way the splitter hits the track."
"You can really hustle (the new cars)," commented Trevor Bayne, driver of the No. 99 Michael Waltrip Racing Camry. "They are fun to drive and I think it is going to go back to making the cars handle rather than just go fast."
Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 60 Ford Mustang for Rousch/Fenway Racing, loves the new car. "It’s got a ton of front downforce, so the racing you’re gonna see -- is gonna be insane. And it just looks good. I’m excited about."
I asked Carl how important the safety aspects of the new Nationwide car are to him, as someone who has survived massive crashes in the new Sprint Cup car and walked away. "It is really important. We see a lot of wrecks and it seems like we always walk away and everything is okay, but there have been a couple wrecks I’ve been in where I thought, ‘Man, that was close,’ or something bad could have happened. The more space these guys at NASCAR have given us in the race car, and the farther we can get from the door, the farther we can be from the roof, the crumple zones -- all that stuff -- that’s really a big deal. It means a lot to us that they are focused on that. I whine about my motor and about the downforce and about all these things. I’ll always complain about stuff, but I don’t ever complain about (the safety features) because we really appreciate that."
Overall, it isn't the safety or design of the car that makes the former Nationwide Series Champion smile the most, but the excitement the new look brings back to the series. "It’s just more fun. It’s neat to be out there and see some neat-looking race cars and it’s fun to drive them. It’s cool to walk through the garage and even see some differences in the cars. To me, that’s one of the neatest things about racing is to see neat-looking race cars. I think whatever comes from this, the safety or the aerodynamics stuff, the coolest part is just to have a neat car."
During the race, the biggest issue seemed to be the ability to keep control of the car in the draft. If a car got too close to the bumper of another car, it made the car loose. Even Cup Series regulars like Harvick and his Richard Childress Racing teammate Clint Bowyer, who have had four years’ experience driving a similar car, were saying they were "way loose" on the long runs.
At the end of the race, the overall impression was that NASCAR had built a great car to race. "I felt they were pretty good," explained Joey Logano, who finished second in his No. 20 Chevrolet Impala for Joe Gibbs Racing. "They drive more like the Cup car, which is good for me. The horsepower is still down, which makes you think they drive better than the Cup car. I'll be able to transfer things I learned tonight to the race tomorrow, which I haven't been able to do with Nationwide and Cup. It is still different because you have bump stops and coil bind, but there are still things you can transfer that you couldn't before so I think that is fine."
Race Winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. was also impressed with the new car. "This car was nice, it did drive like the COT, if you were in the front. If you were in the back, not so much. I'm really happy with what NASCAR did on the first time out with this car, they will work on it and improve it, but the first go around, I think it was a great success."
While watching the cars on the track Friday night, the best thing in my mind about the new car was the ability to watch the cars go by, and knowing which car make that car is. The Challenger looks different from the Mustang, which looks different from the Camry or Impala. And all of them are different from the Cup cars, which makes them even better.
I look forward to 2011 when we get to see these cars on the track full time.
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