Darby: COT may be the 'Car of Today' in 2008

BRISTOL, Tenn. -- The Car of Tomorrow may become the Car of Today much sooner than anyone originally envisioned.

Nextel Cup Series director John Darby said Wednesday that he expects teams to run a full schedule with COT racecars by 2008.

The original plan NASCAR developed after consulting with team owners called for a three-year phase-in of the new car, beginning with 16 of the 36 races in 2007 featuring it. The current plan calls for 26 of the 36 races in '08 to be run with COT cars, with a full schedule to follow in '09.

Now, Darby is saying the full slate of COT races could be coming a full year sooner.

The first race to be run with COT cars is scheduled for March 25 at Bristol Motor Speedway, where 50 teams began testing their versions of the machines Wednesday. Most drivers, crew chiefs and owners seemed to react to the tests in a favorable manner, leading reporters to ask Darby if he was beginning to hear an overwhelming positive response to the project as well. Previously, many of the same drivers, crew chiefs and owners had been vocal in their criticism and resistance to the COT program.

"Halleluiah," Darby said. "As time goes on, I think you will hear the volume of those cries will get turned up louder and louder and louder. I don't think I have to tell this group [of media] that we would welcome that with arms wide open. I tell you, it's just a pain in the butt for the teams run two parallel programs with two different racecars. It's a pain for us to manipulate and work and apply two different rulebooks, and two different inspection procedures.

"A lot of what's happening is that it's settling in to the competitors that this is the future, that this is the car. So why are we going to wait for three years? And I really don't expect that we will."

Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 8 Chevrolet, said the Car of Tomorrow far exceeded his expectations during testing Wednesday.

"It actually drives better than our other cars do here," Earnhardt said. "The car is an inch wider; it has a little more grip. I am really pleasantly surprised."

That is what Darby heard from most of those he spoke to following Wednesday's first test session at Bristol. Darby said that he expects to conduct numerous "one-on-one" meetings with drivers and team owners in the coming weeks and even months, regarding the possibility stepping up the COT schedule. (Continued)