NASCAR көліктерінің эволюциясы: «Ертеңгі Көлік» және жаңа буын

Generation of NASCAR stock cars

The Car of Tomorrow (abbreviated as CoT) was the common name used for the chassis of the NASCAR Cup Series (2007 – 2012) and Xfinity Series (since 2011 full time) race cars. The car was part of a five year project to create a safer vehicle following several deaths in competition, particularly the crash at the 2001 Daytona 500 that killed Dale Earnhardt. Used as the fifth generation car style for the Cup Series, the original Car of Tomorrow body design was larger and boxier than the design it replaced, and criticized for its generic appearance and poor handling characteristics. The CoT, however, implemented dramatic safety improvements, cost less to maintain, and was intended to make for closer competition. The car was introduced in the 2007 Cup Series season at the Food City 500 on March 25 and ran a partial schedule of 16 races. The plan was to require all teams to use the new car in 2009, but NASCAR officials moved the date up to the 2008 season as a cost saving measure. The Car of Tomorrow body style was retired by NASCAR after the 2012 Ford EcoBoost 400. The sixth generation car, which featured the additional chassis safety improvements as well as improved body designs, debuted in 2013; The chassis was used until the end of the 2021 season before eventually replaced with the Next Gen car in 2022. In 2010, the Xfinity Series (then the Nationwide Series) debuted its own version of the CoT in a partial schedule, using the same chassis but different bodies and a shorter wheelbase; teams could take old Sprint Cup cars, change the bodies, and run them in the Nationwide Series, provided they passed recertification. The car was required for full time competition in 2011. No deaths have occurred in NASCAR Cup Series competition since the Car of Tomorrow was introduced.

On January 11, 2006, NASCAR revealed the Car of Tomorrow, also referred to as the "Car of the Future" during its development, after a five year design program sparked mainly by the death of Dale Earnhardt Sr. in a final lap crash during the 2001 Daytona 500. During the prior season, three drivers (Adam Petty, Kenny Irwin Jr. and Tony Roper) had perished in on track accidents. The then current cars were based on a design by Holman Moody first used for the 1966 Ford Fairlane. The primary design considerations for the new car were "safety innovations, performance and competition, and cost efficiency for teams." NASCAR officials initially claimed the car was less dependent on aerodynamics, comparing its performance to the trucks of the Craftsman Truck Series. It initially featured a detached wing, which had not been used since the Dodge Charger Daytona and Plymouth Superbird in 1970, in place of a rear spoiler. The windshield was more upright to prevent collapse in the event of a rollover, with the added effect of increased drag. device nicknamed "the claw" that was designed to fit over the new cars. In the first two races at Bristol and Martinsville Speedway, the garages were opened one day early and the inspections took up to 10 hours so that everyone (teams, officials, etc.) could get a better grip on the new unified template. NASCAR's old rules had a different set of templates for each manufacturer (Ford, Chevrolet, Dodge, and Toyota). one such instance of rule book changes against gray areas occurred after the 2008 Sprint All Star Challenge, in which Sam Hornish, Jr. ran a car with skewed setup to finish second in the Showdown and advance to the All Star Race, as well in 2012 after Hendrick Motorsports' teams ran with skewed sway bars to win five races during the spring portion of the season. With the transition to the Generation 6 car, the claw continues to be used along with manufacturer specific templates Ford continued to use the Fusion model while Toyota continued to use the Camry.

The Car of Tomorrow was first tested in December 2005 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Next it tested at the 2.5 mile Daytona International Speedway, then on NASCAR's two shortest tracks, Bristol (0.533 mi) and Martinsville (0.526 mi. ), the 1.5 mile Charlotte Motor Speedway, the 2.66 mile Talladega Superspeedway, and 2.0 mile Michigan International Speedway. Former NASCAR driver, and former Cup Series pace car driver and Director of Cost Research Brett Bodine also tested the prototype car against cars prepared by current NASCAR teams. Drivers tested the CoT concurrently with the old car at some NASCAR tests and at special NASCAR authorized sessions. Other testing sessions occurred at the half mile Greenville Pickens Speedway, Caraway Speedway in Asheboro, NC, and the one mile North Carolina Speedway (now Rockingham Speedway), none of which were Cup Series tracks at the time (North Carolina Speedway was a regular venue until 2005), and therefore did not fall under NASCAR's restrictions.

The Car of Tomorrow was first raced at the 2007 Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway, the season's fifth race. Apparently 2008 was not going to be when the CoT would make its debut. It was initially going to debut in mid to late 2005, and possibly 2004 according to NASCAR's R&D at the time. But the tests with this version plus negative driver comments led to the creation of the splitter and the wing, thus delaying implementation until 2007.

On March 25, 2007, the CoT debuted in its first NASCAR sanctioned race. Kyle Busch won the race, the first win for the Chevrolet Impala since Wendell Scott's historic race in 1963. Reactions to the CoT's performance were mixed. Dale Earnhardt Jr., after finishing 7th, said, "It wasn't a disaster like everybody anticipated. It worked out, I reckon. Racing was about the same." Drivers were also impressed with the car's ability to bump other competitors without causing a spin (bumper heights were equalized due to street car development, and nose to rear bumper contact caused spins that pre 1988 cars would not cause), and NASCAR officials were pleased with the improvements in safety. Several drivers and pundits expressed distaste for the car and what they perceived as a less exciting style of racing created by it. Kyle Busch, despite winning at Bristol, commented that "they suck" during his victory lane interview. Retired driver and TV analyst Rusty Wallace stated on ESPN that the car created a boring, single file racing environment with little of the passing, action, or crashing that has made NASCAR popular, though after NASCAR announced the CoT would run the full schedule, he stated that it was "one of the best decisions NASCAR had ever made." Drivers who placed well at Bristol, Jeff Gordon and Jeff Burton, claimed that the car allowed the use of a second passing lane not usually present at Bristol. There were no problems with the splitter causing tire failure at the car's second race. Another major problem was that the safety foam used in the side of the car would catch fire, engulfing the driver's cockpit with smoke. NASCAR decided to make modifications before the April 21 Subway Fresh Fit 500 in Avondale, Arizona. An additional side effect of the foam occurred during side impacts, as Brian Vickers experienced at Watkins Glen, when the foam would be sheared out of the car leaving debris on the racetrack. During the 2007 UAW Ford 500, the CoT's debut on a superspeedway track at Talladega, NASCAR assigned a restrictor plate to allow the engines to run at around 8,800 RPM due to the less aerodynamic design of the CoT. The previous generation car's engine would normally run around 7,000 RPM with a plate. This was the most open restrictor plate (in terms of air flow) to race at Talladega since 1988.

For 2013, NASCAR allowed manufacturers to design a brand new body style for the COT chassis that resembled a given production car even more. The changes were largely cosmetic, with hopes of returning mechanical grip to drivers. At the 2012 Ford Championship Weekend the body of the car made it the Gen 6 car by NASCAR. During the 2012 season, it was announced that Ford would use the Mk. V Ford Mondeo, known as the Fusion in the Americas, Toyota would continue to use the 2013 Camry, while the Holden VF Commodore, rebadged in North America as the Chevrolet Super Sport (SS), replaced the Chevrolet Impala and Dodge announced they would use the Charger. However, soon after, Dodge announced their withdrawal from the sport, after being unable to convince other teams to switch to Dodge to replace Penske Racing (which returned to Ford). Key among the changes for the car included a carbon fibre hood and decklid, shaving 160 pounds from Cup cars, and new improved safety bars added to the roll cage. The roof flaps were increased in size to prevent the airborne accidents that marked the CoT's early life. This new "Generation 6" racecar debuted at the 2013 Daytona 500 and its supporting races. The testing and design of the car began in May 2010 and involved an unusual level of cooperation between the manufacturers (Chevrolet, Ford, and Toyota) involved. The 500 and subsequent race at Phoenix Raceway, however, caused controversy, as passing was limited and drivers such as Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin were critical of the car's ability to pass; the controversy was exacerbated when NASCAR fined Hamlin $25,000 over his comments. The view was also expressed that the car's slow development time and lack of available parts made drivers reluctant to take chances, with improvement expected with more time invested into the car. The Generation 6 car was succeeded by the Next Gen car in 2022.

The Nationwide Series (now Xfinity Series) debuted its own version of the CoT in July 2010 at Daytona International Speedway, running four races that season before fully implementing the car in 2011. The Xfinity car used the same chassis as the Cup Series, but featured an extended wheelbase of The second tier series also utilizes different body style, primarily marketing American pony cars such as the Ford Mustang.

In 2015, NASCAR's regional series, the then K&N Pro Series East and West along with the ARCA Racing Series (which NASCAR purchased in 2018, followed with rebranding of the East and West Series under the ARCA banner in 2020), the final series to still use the Generation 4 style body, introduced a new body style based on the Generation 6 Cup Series cars. Unlike the Generation 6 cars, the K&N Pro Series/ARCA car continues to use a front valence instead of a splitter. Again, three bodies are available—the Camry, Commodore, and Fusion; these cars continue to use be based on their 2013 spec body styles even with changes to their Cup Series counterparts. In 2022, a Ford Mustang bodystyle (based on the 2021 Generation 6 body) also became available.