The Car of Today has made headlines throughout the first seven races of the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. For the most part, members of the NASCAR community have been critical of the way the car performs during the course of the race, specifically how it handles in traffic, which has resulted in numerous debates in the garage and in the media. While the jury may still be out regarding the competition aspect of the Car of Today, no one doubts the safety aspects of the car.
The now-retired Dale Jarrett addressed the subject of the car before making his last championship point start at Bristol Motor Speedway in mid March.
"I don't understand how you can improve competition by making the cars handle worse," Jarrett explained. "That's pretty much what we have been dealing with in these new cars. That isn't taking anything away from the safety aspects of this car but I believe we can accomplish those safety goals while also making the cars perform in a way in which they aren't so aero-dependent like they are now."
Jarrett isn't alone in his assessment of how the cars handle. Reigning series champ Jimmie Johnson expressed similar thoughts after the recent Samsung 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.
"I was really shocked in how bad the cars drove in traffic," Johnson said. "It was really unfortunate. You would catch people and the guy in front of you, you run their pace. I really think we need to look at some changes to help these cars not be so aero-dependent. They are safer. They are doing a lot of things the right way but we really need to look at making some changes so these cars can have a little more downforce so when we get into low downforce situations, there is more grip in the car."
While the debate on the performance of the new car from a competition standpoint continues to heat up, no one doubts the fact that the car has created a safer environment for the drivers in the event of an accident. That notion was tested and proved during the Sprint Cup Series race at Texas just a few weeks ago when rookie driver Michael McDowell made hard contact with the outside retaining wall in turn one and then started to barrel roll through the rest of the turn. McDowell walked away from the incident without injury, climbing out of a badly damaged race car.
Car owner Michael Waltrip has been one of the most vocal advocates of the safety features of the new car and continued to add to the safety accolades after McDowell walked away from his accident unscathed.
"You appreciate the effort, not only the team but by NASCAR," Waltrip said of the safety efforts. "I just have to tell you that millions of dollars were spent to try to make a car - through the passion of Brett Bodine and Robin Pemberton and the passion that NASCAR has in that car - to make the track safer was costly. But when you see in a wreck like that it sure does make you feel good about what we've accomplished."
While the debate over the car continues to rage, many are starting to propose compromises to make for better racing. Jarrett has suggested that a competition committee may be just the thing to help the current situation.
"I think it would be very beneficial if we had something like that in place and it could change on a yearly basis," Jarrett said. "Look at a group of three to five guys that have a good handle on the sport at that particular time that could get together every once and awhile and either talk to other guys and take their ideas to NASCAR and let them understand what these cars are like instead of having to do it through the press as what has happened this year."
"I think that the drivers need to be represented and NASCAR understand that this is not about telling them how to go about their business, but helping them to understand how we can have better races," Jarrett continued. "That's what got the fans started and why they continue to come. If we don't get a little better competition here then we're going to be looking at things in a different manner. I think we do need to have something along those lines."
