Gordon: Too early to commit to full schedule

BRISTOL, Tenn. -- Wednesday brought the first day of Car of Tomorrow testing at Bristol Motor Speedway, along with the acknowledgement from Nextel Cup Series director John Darby that the schedule to implement the COT for all Cup races might accelerate, if there's consensus in the garage to support it.

If NASCAR decides to race the COT in all events in 2008 -- instead of the 26 announced on the original schedule -- the sanctioning body will do so over the objections of Hendrick Motorsports driver Jeff Gordon, who sees a litany of challenges with an accelerated schedule.

COT specials

SPEED will air two 30-minute specials from the Car of Tomorrow test sessions from Bristol, at 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday and Thursday.

John Roberts will host the SPEED coverage with analysis from 18-year NASCAR crew chief Larry McReynolds and reporting from Bob Dillner.

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"I think it's too early to commit to that," said Gordon, who also has a laundry list of improvements he'd like to see in the COT. "I understand it from a financial standpoint, especially because I think there are a lot of teams that are behind because of the schedule they are on with building both cars [traditional chassis and COT], but I think until we get through some races, it's too early.

"I really think there might be a lot of changes that need to happen -- for the good. I think that's why we're running it this year [in 16 races], so we can get the car out there, put it in race conditions and really through the inspection process, go through qualifying, go through race prep -- everything that it's going to take to really evaluate this car fully.

"Right now, I just see things that we are locked down on this car that I feel like are going to be a little bit too challenging, that may need to bend a little bit. I think that John and NASCAR understand."

Darby acknowledged that Gordon has visited NASCAR's tech center in Charlotte, has gone over the COT from nose to rear bumper and has made a number of suggestions for improvements. Gordon and Darby declined to identify specifics.

"We're always open to moving on the car in small ways, if we have to,"

Darby said. "But we've been working on the car and tinkering with it for a long time, so now it's time for the teams to do their part."

Though Gordon has issues with the lack of adjustability and the handling characteristics of the COT, his former Hendrick teammate and current Red Bull Toyota driver Brian Vickers said he wouldn't object to racing the COT full time in 2008.