Could someone explain the COT to me?

Question

I haven't been a NASCAR fan for very long (just a couple years... I know, I'm a noob), so could someone explain what's so different about the COT?

Personally I value the safety of the drivers over everything else. I think Michael McDowell's crash was a testament to how necessary the safety features of the COT are. But, safety features aside... what's so different?

Could you veteran fans give me some examples and let me know why the drivers and fans have some issues with it? =) Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

The COT was designed with 2 concepts in mind.

1. Driver Saftey - The car has thicker foam insultators in the side walls to absorb shock damage. Darlington was a good example of its use because in the past cars that hit the wall would take heavy damage and now the just keep rolling. It also has the splitter and spoiler for downforces and such.

2. Level the Playing Field - In the race inspections the COT has 119 templates the car has to fit. This means that there are 119 things the officials check to make sure the cars are the same. That way teams with more money to research cannot find modifications with the body.

All in all the drivers gripes with the COT is that it is not easy for them to turn and roll through the corners. The Aerodynamics favor the drivers in clean air so if somebody blocks your line its very hard to get around them, and crew chiefs do not like all of the templates they must fit. Guys like Chad Knaus make thier living off of making changes that in the past were okay but now draw huge fines.

Answer 2

The new car may be safer, but the old car was no slouch either. One look at Ricky Craven's crash at Talladega years ago, or many other nasty wrecks show that the old car was pretty darn good.

Answer 3

The COT was built for safety reasons. It all started when Dale Earnhardt died at daytona in 2001. In the COT, the drivers set is moved closer to the interior of the car so when a car slams the drivers side, it is a little safer. There are several modifications in the COT from the old car, but the main reason for the COT is for safety. A lot of drivers complain about it, saying it drives worse and the racing is not as good. But if it is safer and causes less deaths, then i wouldn't really complain. It's good you brought up the Michael Mcdowell wreck. That was a good test to prove how much safer these new cars are

Answer 4

it is bigger by like 3-6 inches because they added three inches of foam to both sides of the car... it has the rear spolier and the splitter... it is just a saftey improvements.. people have problems with it because it is harder to pass with the car, it is bigger and bulkier, if you break the splitter you are basically done for the day (remember dover this year: junior was down so many laps because they had to fix the splitter)

Answer 5

There are sooo many things way to many to list but the resoning was safty and to make all things equal no one has a real big advantage over the next person and i like how the bumpers line up alot more bumpin and rubbin and not as much wreckin

Answer 6

The COT was developed (accelerated by Dale Earnhardt's death) to enhance NASCAR Cup racing.

It was implemented to increase the amount of safety in the cars by making the driver area (or 'greenhouse') bigger thereby making it easier for drivers to escape quickly if needed. The cars also come with foam into the sides thereby reducing the impact when a driver hits the wall. Its not by much, but any little bit helps.

Another factor in its implementation is its cost reduction to team in the long term by reducing the amount of cars in an individual team's fleet. Prior to the COT a driver could not/would not use a car set for Daytona at Darlington or vice versa. But with the COT the car can be easily adjusted so that the amount of cars needed for a season is reduced and thereby reducing the costs annually to compete and thereby opening up more opportunities to prospective teams.

Also another reason was to equalise the competition amongst the Cup teams. As everyone starts with the car at the same time all the teams would have a blank slate thereby increasing the competition level on track. According to statistics the amount of passing on track has increased as a result of the car.

Why the drivers have issues with it stems from the fact that as the car has its differences from the 2006 car as in a front splitter vs a front valence and a rear wing vs a rear spoiler it makes the car drive different from its predecessor. The general consensus is that it drives more difficult, which the drivers don't like.

From a fan perspective many argue that on looks alone they don't like the COT & complain that the car doesn't produce as much passing and on track compettion. Prior to its debut many well respected drivers echoed this.

Personally, I think some of the changes implemented in the COT could have been used in the old car, but I do understand NASCAR's reasoning into implementing it. Many have to remember, that the old car from its inception was in evolution into what was used in 2006. The COT is in its 2nd year of use. I expect the same evolution to occur & for it to gradually get better as the years go by.

Answer 7

Here is some info on the COT and some criticism, I dont think this will answer all your questions but there might be a few answers in here, Good luck and have a great day!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car_of_Tomo...