On Saturday when a NASCAR official spoke of the new NNS COTs, he beamed. It had been a long time since someone from the sanctioning body's side of the sport was genuinely enthusiastic about the styling of a car.
And when he mentioned "Mustang," my ears perked. A Mustang? A true American sports car for NASCAR competition? And a Challenger, too?
I must be dreaming.
"Ten-fold better than a Cup car," the official said of the designs, which must be submitted for approval by June 26 according to the NASCAR Rule Book.
The new cars are expected to be closer to stock than any vehicle that the sanctioning body has run in the top two series since the dreaded term "aero-matching" rolled off spin-doctor tongues in 2000.
Despite opposition to a common template platform from both General Motors and Ford, NASCAR turned the Sprint Cup division into a high-dollar IROC Series where all the cars were similar — and the fans turned away. Field managers warned league principals that loss of brand identification would be detrimental not only to the manufacturers, but to the sport itself.
Manufacturers reportedly poured more than a half-billion dollars into the sport last year through factory and technical support to the teams, track support, vehicle programs and advertising. Yet NASCAR turned its back on Detroit with each generation of its race car as it morphed further away from what was on the showroom floor.
Yes, the new Sprint Cup car has proved to be safer. After the initial blow of scrapping entire fleets of the old car, the new model will be more cost efficient. The level of competition with the new car — at tracks other than intermediate and two-mile venues — has picked up considerably.
But the majority of core NASCAR fans have never embraced this car. The evidence of their displeasure can be measured in the dramatic drop in attendance, souvenir sales and television ratings, all of which started long before the economy tanked.
Now NASCAR is feeling a similar pain in its pocketbook. And the sanctioning body is responding by offering an olive branch in the form of a sleeker, sexy race car to entice the fans back to the stands. A car that hopefully will revive the "Win on Sunday, buy on Monday" mentality of fans so automakers and sponsors can continue to enjoy a return on investment in the sport.
Rather than admitting their mistake in the Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR will begin filtering elements of the Nationwide cars back to the Cup model. The cockpit is expected to remain the same to maintain the integrity of the safer vehicle but the car will take on a sportier appearance.
Currently, only Ford and Dodge will compete with models that differ from Cup. Despite Chevrolet rolling out the new Camaro to dealers, there doesn't seem to be an urgency to promote that brand or the Malibu in NASCAR other than for pace cars at this time. Toyota has discontinued its two-door Solara, so expect the Camry nameplate in NNS.
The days when racers bought cars from the showroom floor, made a few modifications and were ready to race are over. But developing a car that appeals to both fans and manufacturers is a step in the right direction.
Copyright © 2024 QUIZLS.COM - All rights reserved.
Answers & Comments
Verified answer
Yes, yes, yes! Come on Pony's! I've been waiting for something like this.
The whole thing is a little ridiculous to me. In my opinion they messed up big time by bringing the first "Car of Tomorrow". They are safer which is the most important thing but theres simply rarely good competitive racing with these things. They need to keep what they have and work out all of the negatives and get back to the root of nascar, the competitive racing. The cars that nascar uses now definitely have the potential to be an awsome setup, itll just take time i suppose. The more new things that nascar decides to bring in just delays the good racing that everyone wants.
I wouldn't get too excited over this just yet. I am glad that the Mustang is coming to Nascar, but GM doesn't want its Camaro racing in a series where the bodies are all similar. If my info is correct, the Nationwide series is going to use the same chassis as the Cup series is using, but with different bodies. We'll see how that works out. One other thing to look forward to - Hyundai Genesis.
Yes they are coming for the Busch Series COT. I've seen the model for the mustang and it just looks like a rebadged cup car. I'm disappointed in NASCAR for this
I agree, it could have been astonishing to work out each and every of the laps ran. i strengthen into indignant on the reality they purple flagged the race like they could proceed it yet then 15 minutes later called the race over. That strengthen into relatively stupid and uncalled for, the two end it acceptable then or proceed later. do no longer debate whether or to no longer end it for 15 minutes. As for the stay overall performance, no longer a huge fan of city.
Who could say no to a question like that? Wait!?! What was that question again? Bring on the ponies.
to the nationwide series