NASCAR Car of the Future Plans

[kingfloopy]

Saw something interesting this morning. When NASCAR launches their new larger car of the future in 2007 the current cars will be shuffled around to different series. The current Nextel cup cars will move to the Busch series. The Busch series car will more to a new Grand National type series in Mexico, Canada, S.W. United States (West Series?) and possibly even England. So it looks NASCAR is looking to expand their efforts outside of the United States and even North America in the future.

J.D.

http://www.journalnow.com/scripts/is...=1037645509200

[bigted]

i think its a good thing but i doubt there is the market to sustain it, those cars are expensive

[thebear]

Originally Posted by kingfloopy

Saw something interesting this morning. When NASCAR launches their new larger car of the future in 2007 the current cars will be shuffled around to different series.

Some of the changes in the '07 cars are:

1) Increase the the height of the car by two inches.
2) Increase the width of the car by four inches.
3) Move the drivers seat 4½ inches to the right (closer to the center of the car).
4) Increase in the angle of the windscreen to cause MORE drag (more drag and less downforce from the body). The higher drag means about 150 additional HP will be required. This could also allow improvements in tire grip & life.
5) Aerodynamic aids (spoilers, etc) will be detachable so that teams do not need to build a body shell for a specific track
6) Increase the strength of the chassis and crumple zones.

[kingfloopy]

I think these changes are a move in the right direction. The changes will make the cars safer and should eventually help reduce costs by developing a universal body shell. Their will be some initial expense to build the new cars, but the plan seems to be to gradually phase the new cars during 2007 and possibly starting as soon as Talledega next fall. As for using the old cars for new series, I'm not sure how well this will work. NASCAR has some involvement with the CASCAR series in Canada, so it would not be a stretch to see them phase in old Busch cars. They also already have the West series in the United States also and this series is already using old Busch chassis so it would continue as normal. The series based in Mexico and England would be all new however and would have to compete with existing series and have to attract the sponsors required to support a full field in the series. I think England will be a hard sell as Europe is more dedicated to other forms besides stock cars. Maybe they could stick Vauxhall noses on Chevys and sell the series as a new form of touring cars?

J.D.

[Just Do It!]

What will an extra 150 hp cost to develop and maintain? Another $2 million per season
??

[Gerben24]

Originally Posted by thebear

Some of the changes in the '07 cars are:

3) Move the drivers seat 4½ inches to the right (closer to the center of the car).

5) Aerodynamic aids (spoilers, etc) will be detachable so that teams do not need to build a body shell for a specific track

3) wow, 4 1/2 inches, is there currently space to do that? They'll almost be sitting on the gearlevel, won't they? With the cars being made wider it will almost seem the driver sitting in the middle! This will have more complications then you think, they will have to redesign the rearview mirror, oh dear...

5) There won't be any need to build a body shell for a specific track, but are the allowed to do it anyway?

[thebear]

Originally Posted by Just Do It!

What will an extra 150 hp cost to develop and maintain? Another $2 million per season??

The restrictor plate openings will become larger to compensate. Of course the only way to overcome a deficit in cubic inches is with a large pile of rectangular money.

[thebear]

The number of cars entered by a team will probably be restricted. Click HERE for article.

Gerben24

5) There won't be any need to build a body shell for a specific track, but are the allowed to do it anyway?

They will still have to pass the various body configuration templates which insure that all the cars have EXACTLY the same shape, regardless of "brand" name.

[1969MGCGTdriver]

its only a matter of time before the manufacturers are no longer involved. It will be a spec-racer series with NASCAR-supplied, sealed engines. After watching since '83, I have seen the series get worse and worse and NASCRAP steadily rewrote the rules book to make it easier for them to enforce.....

BRING BACK THE DAYS WHEN A THUNDERBIRD WAS A THUNDERBIRD AND A MONTE CARLO WAS A BRICK!!!!!

[Joe Fan]

Originally Posted by 1969MGCGTdriver

BRING BACK THE DAYS WHEN A THUNDERBIRD WAS A THUNDERBIRD AND A MONTE CARLO WAS A BRICK!!!!!

Or at least, when a NASCAR Thunderbird fit the template of its street counterpart.

[thebear]

Click HERE for the text of the NA$CAR press conference about `the car of the future' and limiting the number of cars a team can enter.

[Robert Ryan]

The Busch series car will more to a new Grand National type series in Mexico, Canada, S.W. United States (West Series?) and possibly even England. So it looks NASCAR is looking to expand their efforts outside of the United States and even North America in the future
I very much doubt it, Mike Mulheron tends to go at a tangent. Marcos Ambrose was holidaying in the US and took in the Dover race for Australian TV.
This became,"NASCAR was looking ar running a race at Surfers Paradise, to replace Champcar" Uhhh?

[cybersdorf]

Erm, no, they can't race in Britain, they'd need wipers for that.

Rumour has it NASCAR researchers are working on a device to replace the carburettor, called fuel-inject-something-or-other? Heard anything about that? Space-age hi tech stuff I know, could be difficult to implement

btw that rookie's name is Bowyer. Truly a well-informed source there.

[andy_b]

I just think it would be better if they looked more like the 'donor' car like they did pre 90's. In the 80's a Monte Carlo NASCAR has the window surrounds etc, you could relate to it. At present its in the shape of a blob with token stickers in the shape of lights and grille.

[cybersdorf]

But the cars aren't the stars, the drivers are. See it as prototype racing - the cars there have nothing to do with any roadgoing models either.

[1969MGCGTdriver]

Originally Posted by cybersdorf

But the cars aren't the stars, the drivers are.

Exactly. Thats why I don't watch NA$CRAP anymore. I like cars. I could just about care less who is driving it.

Originally Posted by cybersdorf

See it as prototype racing - the cars there have nothing to do with any roadgoing models either.

Actually I would call them spec racers, not prototypes. TRUE prototypes are some of the most beautiful purpose-built race cars around. BTW, I don't consider NA$CRAP's Daytona Prototypes to be anything more than the future of Nextel Cup. THey are ugly, slow, and governed under the mighty fist of Mr. France.

I watch racing for the action and the CARS, not the drivers. To me the drivers are secondary. My NASCAR days are over. Long live ALMS and LMES.

[kingfloopy]

In a few years pretty much all racing series are going to be spec series with all teams using the same chassis and engines. NASCAR won't be much different with all makes using the same basic body shell and engine design. Personally I don't really want to see this. I'd rather see a bunch of different manufacturers in every series. But with the way things are very few manufacturers (the Japanese included) have money to spend developing race cars. A lot the American companies can barely afford to produce street cars. The only way any series is going to survive is if the playing field is leveled to curb development costs and try to make it cheaper to race.

J.D.

[cybersdorf]

Originally Posted by 1969MGCGTdriver

Exactly. Thats why I don't watch NA$CRAP anymore. I like cars. I could just about care less who is driving it.

Actually I would call them spec racers, not prototypes. TRUE prototypes are some of the most beautiful purpose-built race cars around. BTW, I don't consider NA$CRAP's Daytona Prototypes to be anything more than the future of Nextel Cup. THey are ugly, slow, and governed under the mighty fist of Mr. France.

I watch racing for the action and the CARS, not the drivers. To me the drivers are secondary. My NASCAR days are over. Long live ALMS and LMES.

Okay.

[cybersdorf]

Next question: I am late in catching up with this (having only started to concern myself, professionally if you like, with NASCAR racing), and would like to know more about NASCAR's actual goals for this car of tomorrow, preferably in their own words. So far, I have only found the France/Helton press conference transcript on the rule changes (car of tomorrow, max. number of cars per team), which is interesting but probably doesn't give me the whole picture. Anyone know where I can find the initial proposal for this new car?

[kingfloopy]

This link is to Jayski's Silly Season site. It's his page on the Car of Tomorrow.

http://www.jayski.com/teams/car-future.htm

J.D.

[cybersdorf]

thank you, I'll work my way through it.

[kingfloopy]

If you check the link today they have posted images of the cars from a test at Atlanta.

J.D.

[kingfloopy]

It looks like the car of the future will be delayed from the original plan. The goal now is to phase the car in at short tracks and road courses starting in 2007. Then move to 2 mile+ tracks in 2008 and intermediate tracks in 2009. I believe the original plan was to introduce the car at Talladega this fall. There have also been some news updates at the Jayski site:

http://www.jayski.com/teams/car-future.htm

J.D.

[andy_b]

so, forgive me as a newcomer to N.A. I'm not that clued up with NASCAR yet. does this mean all the cars will look the same except for headlamp stickers and grille shapes?

I always think its a shame compared to say the 70's when you had Buicks which looked like Buick, complete with chrome window surrounds.

[cybersdorf]

Originally Posted by andy_b

so, forgive me as a newcomer to N.A. I'm not that clued up with NASCAR yet. does this mean all the cars will look the same except for headlamp stickers and grille shapes?

They already do.