Martinsville vs. Talladega: NASCAR style

In the past two weekends, NASCAR has raced on one of the shortest racetracks that they go to Martinsville Speedway, a tight paperclip half-mile speedway where you will find some of the best short track racing on the NASCAR schedule. And the next weekend (this past Sunday) at the largest racetrack on the schedule, Talladega Superspeedway, a 2.66 mile high speed oval simply known as restrictor plate racing.

Martinsville Speedway
Last weekend at Martinsville Speedway, the site of the Tums Fast Relief 500 that saw some of the better side of racing in NASCAR. 500 laps around a tight paperclip half-mile speedway, short-track racing at its finest are what racing is all about whether it’s NASCAR or just a short track bullring all around the United States, Canada and beyond.

Last weekend’s Tums 500 saw Juan Montoya roughing up several drivers including Jeff Gordon to make his way to front of the field. I like what Jeff Gordon said early on during the race after Montoya went by him, “He’s got the best car out here, but doesn’t know what to do with it” and I agree with fully. I will go on record as saying I will be completely surprised when he wins again in NASCAR so long as it’s not on a road course. This was one of those races that had action throughout the field at any given time.

One theme had to be pass or a lack there off, however it’s not supposed to be easy. I never expect a driver to just pull over and give up the position, especially on a short-track like Martinsville. This is racing, you have to earn each and every position period.

At the end of the 500 laps, it was the classic rivalry of Jimmie Johnson vs. Denny Hamlin with this one going simply to Denny Hamlin. However just like Denny Hamlin said in victory lane, the story was Jimmie Johnson finishes 2nd and extends his points lead, while tucked in the right hand lower corner was Denny Hamlin wins Martinsville.

Talladega Superspeedway
Well now this brings me to Sunday’s AMP Energy 500 at you guessed it, Talladega Superspeedway. I would describe restrictor plate racing as a heart-stopping, yet hard to watch at times type (or form) of racing in NASCAR.

Now I watched Sunday’s Cup Series race at Talladega I agree with several drivers, the racing just wasn’t there. I believe the race was boring. During the race, two drivers talking on the radio to their crew chief/crews summed up at least the first 80 somewhat laps of this race. Kevin Harvick asked for his iPod, of course the response was we can put it in your drink cup on the next stop (I hope I got that right, don’t quote me), but even better, Tony Stewart said “Somebody tell me something to keep me awake”, unfortunately I didn’t catch the response from his crew.

The first 80 somewhat laps was racing single-file, it was a parade, we don’t have parades in NASCAR during a race on track, come on.

However when the racing finally got going, the fans commented later that they hated some of the strategy of running in the bad until the closing laps and then making their way to the front to try and win the race. Case in point was Jimmie Johnson, he hung out in the back until 15 almost 10 to go before moving up. I even thought that he was too late.

But you know that it had to happen sooner or later and two “the Big Ones” happened. 5 laps to go had Newman getting turned with his teammate Tony Stewart going into the outside, Ryan Newman ended up getting turned, going airborn, coming down on Kevin Harvick’s hood and windshield which I think softened the blow if that is possible, before flipping several times, and coming to a stop on his roof. Race at this point was red flagged. What a wreck, I was glad to see him walk away.

Then coming to the white flag, another wreck happened with I believe Brian Vickers hit Brad Keselowski who hit Kurt Busch (bump drafting) which touched off a chain reaction that also saw Mark Martin get hit in the right rear quarter and flip wildly, several involved and the race was over. I couldn’t believe it, Jamie McMurray wins at Talladega, but the bigger story once again, Jimmie Johnson finishes (6th as of Sunday night) and extends his points lead.

Two races that were completely different, but really shouldn’t be considering the goal of all NASCAR races is to put on a show for the fans period, well Martinsville in my opinion did, however Talladega didn’t. What’s next for NASCAR, what can they do about the restrictor plate racing?

2010 already underway in the NASCAR Sprint Cup for some…Keselowski and Rogers in

Over the last few weeks, team in all three NASCAR national series have been making preparations for the upcoming 2010 NASCAR season and especially in the Sprint Cup Series, changes are in full swing.

Early today, Penske Racing announced that Brad Keselowski would get a jump start on 2010 and replace David Stremme in the #12 Dodge in the upcoming races at Texas, Phoenix and Homestead. (Penske Racing PR)

I believe as a Brad Keselowski fan that this is going to be great opportunity for Brad to get some more seat time. Who knows, maybe this is exactly what the series needs in the final three races, Brad coming in and racing hard against some of his rivals Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch and even Juan Montoya. Brad isn’t just going to move over, the last three races will be a learning experience. Also consider this, Brad has been driving Hendrick Motorsports equipment in both the #25 and the #09 (the #09 Chevy’s are Hendrick stuff), now he will be running Penske Dodge’s…he’s going to need those three races period.

Last week saw two crew chief announcements…
First it was announced that Dave Rogers would replace Steve Addington on the #18 Kyle Busch Toyota starting this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway (Joe Gibbs Racing PR).

I have to admit that this move caught me off guard. Steve Addington is one of the best crew chiefs in the garage area. It wasn’t too long ago that Kyle Busch led the series in victories, but this is a performance driven business and crew chiefs are the first to be changed. But my main question is, where does Steve Addington go from here? He knows this car, if JGR doesn’t have room for him, maybe on his fourth car, then another program will, maybe even with Kyle’s brother Kurt Busch at Penske Racing? Good luck to Steve Addington if he going there.

And second, Lance McGrew was named the full-time crew chief of the #88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet after being an intern crew chief since he replace Tony Eury Jr. As a Dale Jr. fan, I believe that this is a good move, but the #88 is far from getting to where they should be. I still believe that Hendrick/Dale Jr./Lance McGrew now needs to start from scratch with this team for 2010, all new people working on this car. I don’t know what the #5 and the #88 do in that shop, but they need to make it like the #48 and #24, one team, two cars.

However this will not be the end of 2010 changes, in the rumor mill still has Kurt Busch getting a new crew chief before Homestead, but don’t think for a moment that Penske is going to let Pat Tryson go over and start at MWR, instead I think Tryson will just be sitting home until after Homstead, then he’s free.

And finally, where is Talladega winner Jamie McMurray going to go? I’m hearing back to his old team owner Chip Ganassi at EGR. I think this will be interesting, one McMurray is an outdoors person that seems to be the problem, Bass Pro Shops wants a marketable person for their brand, Martin Truex Jr. was an outdoors person… maybe Bobby Labonte would be a better choice.

Now it’s off to Texas Motor Speedway with just three races to go in the chase for the Sprint Cup.

Do you agree with Popular Mechanics winners of 2010 Automotive Excellence Awards?

Every year, automotive magazines, websites, journalists and more come out with their picks of what vehicles they believe are the best of the year like the Car and Drivers 10Best and this past Wednesday was no different when after well over 100,000 miles of testing was done on over 100 of the newest cars, trucks and sport-utility vehicles, Popular Mechanics Magazine announced their 2010 Automotive Excellence Awards.

“Despite a tumultuous year in the automotive industry, engineers have rolled out some of the best cars we’ve ever seen,” said James Meigs, editor-in-chief, Popular Mechanics. “We are exceptionally proud of this year’s Automotive Excellence Award winners, all of which represent the innovation and foresight that will keep this industry moving forward.”

The recipients of the fourth annual Popular Mechanics Automotive Excellence Awards:

• Performance: Ford Mustang Shelby GT500
• Design: Chevrolet Camaro
• Value: Kia Soul
• Fuel Efficiency: Toyota Prius
• Versatility: Subaru Outback
• Fun to Drive: Hyundai Genesis Coupe
• Off-Road Ability: Ford F-150 Raptor
• Technical Innovation: Lexus Remote Touch
• Luxury: BMW 335d
• Workhorse: Ford Transit Connect

However after reading this list, do you agree with Popular Mechanics winners of 2010 Automotive Excellence Awards?

When I look at this list, I have to say that while I agree on some and see where they choice that make and model, in other categories, the results have left me asking why.

Of course let’s start with a few categories that I agree with like the Fuel Efficiency going to the Toyota Prius. How on earth it gets those numbers is interesting to me, but nonetheless, it is what it is. However I would actually choice a Audi A3 TDI or a VW Jetta TDI. The advancement in diesels is amazing right now. It surprises me that more consumers don’t look into these types of vehicles, gasoline isn’t going to be around forever, you are going to have to explore alternative fuels sooner or later.

In the performance category, the Chevrolet Corvette and Camaro definitely put up some amazing numbers in performance, but I can also see how the Ford Shelby GT500 beats out the rest this year. The same can be said for design, the Chevrolet Camaro is incredible to look at. Chevrolet’s designers hit this one right on the mark. The 2010 Camaro reminds me of the First Generation Camaro (1967,1968,1969). I will say though that the 2005 Ford Mustang was incredible to look at too as is the 2009 Dodge Challenger. Both were designed with the past in mind as was the new Camaro.

Value left me wondering why, the Kia Soul might have a balance between price tag, power and everything else inside, but it’s ugly. MotorWeek compared the Kia Soul, Scion xB and the Nissan Cube and while they did end with the Kia Soul, the Scion xB was a good compromise between the Soul and the Cube. I would have chosen the Scion xB here, consider its reasonable fuel economy, space (cargo space included), power and it’s not as ugly.

However what simply got my attention had to be three categories, the fun to drive going the Hyundai Genesis Coupe, the off-road ability going to the brand new Ford F-150 Raptor and in Luxury was the BMW 335d. The Raptor was made for off-road, however in not seeing the tests on it, I can’t say for sure that I would agree here. I mean you didn’t get that off-road ability from a Trail Rated Jeep or a Land Rover, really, REALLY?

Under fun to drive, I have to say that from what I have read and seen, the Hyundai Genesis Coupe is a giant surprise especially considering the guys from Autoblog.com took it on the 2009 Targa Trophy rally and finished 6th, but nothing is as fun to drive is a BMW.

Finally is luxury, I’m curious why they choose the BMW 335d? Well Popular Mechanics defined it as “Luxury cars don’t have to be one-dimensional. The 335d blends luxury, performance, fuel economy and fun into one very rewarding package.” I will definitely agree on the performance, fun to drive and the fuel economy, but the jury with me is still out on the best in luxury, what about a Porsche?

Remember that there are a lot of awards that come out every single year for automotive excellence and while you might not agree with all of them (I know I didn’t as I said above), it does leave you pondering a few of them that you might not have considered before. But I will say that like I said above, the 10Best included in a Corvette, Porsche and a VW in theirs, what’s in yours?

(Source: Popular Mechanics; Photo credit: NetCarShow.com)

Health Care Reform and a Public Option: Yes or No?

No Government Public Option, instead help each state run their own that is subsidized though a health care insurance company.

One of the most talked about subjects in the United States right now is health care reform and here in the United States, it costs a lot of money to get health insurance let along dental. Now let me state the something right from the start, I don’t know too much about the current talks on health care reform going on in Washington D.C. right now, it’s only in what I hear in the media. However I have heard the talk about having a government run public option.

I have to say out loud that I’m opposed to a government run public option. As a Massachusetts resident who is currently unemployed just like a lot of people right now, I was forced to use the Massachusetts run public health care insurance called Mass Health. I fill out the forms every now and then for status and it’s a good option and model for Massachusetts residents. I’m not the only one who uses it, there is demand here for it in every state.

So with Massachusetts and a few other states already having their own health care insurance that is subsidized though a health care insurance company, why does the federal government need to have one too? And why doesn’t every state have one for their residents?

I strongly believe that the federal government needs to leave out the public option on their Health Care Reform bill.

First, think about it for a moment, the Federal Government already has Medicare and something else and it doesn’t work. Second, why should the Federal Government build one if Massachusetts and a few other states already have a public option for their residents.

So I propose instead of the Federal Government running or subsidizing health care insurance though a health care insurance company to everyone who needs it, the government should just help each states (all 50 states) create and maintain their own health care insurance using the Massachusetts model.

Personally I would rather have Massachusetts or if I lived in another state run it (which is subsidized though a health care insurance company) instead of the government. Another reason is more options for the consumer/resident who needs coverage. If the Federal Government runs it and there is a huge issue, the only option you have is private insurance company. If each state runs there’s separate, you have more options just by moving to another state.

Basically to the Federal Government and everyone in Washington, No public option, instead just add funding to each state and let them run their own health care plan options. The Massachusetts health care insurance works, so just help each state have the Massachusetts health care insurance model for their residences.

The Health Care Reform bill should work on the overall cost like for example, when I went to the hospital years ago after a automobile crash, the bill was almost $600, now the bill is even more. How about prescription costs? Doctor visit costs? Emergency Room costs? And what about waiting time to get a doctor's appointment? Work on that.

Is the world big enough for both Facebook and Twitter?

According to an article on Mashable that talks about the “The Web 2.0 Summit” in San Francisco, the Twitter CEO said “The world is big enough for Facebook and Twitter.”

In reading that one quote, that got me thinking and while I’m not going to go into full details, I truly believe that he is right for now in the year 2009. The future is bright for social networking which includes blogging, lifestreaming, MySpace, Twitter, Facebook and more, at least in my eyes.

While I will get into all of social networking in the future, today I am talking solely on Twitter and Facebook.

As a webguy who uses the internet daily from looking for articles, news, information, connecting with friends, family, old high school classmates and just exploring, both services have their positives and negatives.

I currently use both services, I have been using Twitter @RaceDriven for months now and Facebook (Brian Vermette) for two months now and both service yield differently to me.

Twitter is a basic service that you can communicate with all over the world just by typing in a short 140 character message as well as post pictures to using the Twitpic. It’s a way to get your message out, whether its announcing a protest, an article you have found, promote your site or business to ask for help. In asking for help, I mean getting answers from companies or getting answers on something that is going on either across the world, across the country or across town. It’s simple.

The downsides are that you only get 140 characters including url and for some that’s not enough. The second is URL Shorteners, this shouldn’t be used, normal url’s are better and safer. I find the service to be cool, straight forward, simple, but needs work. I use Twitter to get small bits of info, spread the word about a post/article and in some cases keep up with celebrities.

Facebook on the other hand is completely different. It’s where you can communicate with friends, family, old high school mates, play games, use apps, and post updates on yourself with more than 140 characters and that doesn’t include the url itself. I am still trying to figure out this service, but am quickly adapting.

I use Facebook in one way like I do Twitter, to promote a post/article that I have written on my blog, however I go a lot further. I use it for playing games, connecting with people (family, friends and more), I find the service to be more advanced and takes time to learn.

I don’t know what the future holds for both Facebook and Twitter. A few sceneries that could play out, one is, Twitter and Facebook could combine, yes I know it’s hard to imagine, but in this world, anything is possible. Two, MySpace could bet both out and create a combo service, three, Twitter could become more advanced now that video is being worked on or Facebook becomes the new proven thing.

However I do know one thing, while there is room in this world right now in 2009 for both Facebook and Twitter, soon there might not be. Consider that there are so many brilliant people in this world that are consistently trying to come up with something new (also in some cases, have nothing better to do) and whether its next year, in 2011, in 2015, in 2020, or beyond, someone will come up with a new service that will make both, most or all other social media service obsolete.

To prove my point, what social networking service where you using before Twitter and Facebook got so hot? I bet you were blogging and/or you could have been using a service called MySpace.

Remember this, MySpace was founded in 2003 and become the most popular social networking site in the United States in June 2006. However things change and Facebook was founded on February 4, 2004 and in April 2008, Facebook surpassed MySpace by becoming the most popular social networking site internationally. And in and among all of that, Twitter was founded in 2006 and right now (October 2009) are half the size of Facebook, but known and used in several countries that allow it and even some that doesn’t.

Where will we be in 2011 or in 2020?

Five races down and 100-plus out, who is still in the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship hunt?

Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin where not only racing hard this past weekend side by side at Lowe's Motor Speedway, but are battling for the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship. (Photo Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR via NASCAR PR)

In the wake of the first five Chase for the Sprint cup races, there are now really only four drivers within striking distance of the point’s leader Jimmie Johnson with just five Chase for the Sprint Cup races to go.

NASCAR fans saw some drivers going for the victories while other where just points racing, first in New Hampshire, Mark Martin held off a hard charging Denny Hamlin and Juan Montoya to take the victory in the Sylvania 300 and the points lead. Dover on the other hand, NASCAR fans saw a sleeper with Jimmie Johnson run away with the race over his Hendrick teammate Mark Martin to win the AAA 400 and close the gap between him and point’s leader Mark Martin.

At Kansas Speedway, the field looked to be covered by the #48 team however a late race caution and a few drivers taking two tires put a new man on the point, Tony Stewart as he held off Jeff Gordon for the victory in the Price Chopper 400. The victory closed Tony Stewart in the top 5 in points. Ironically enough the Kansas race ended up being better than the Dover race the week before.

Then all eyes were on California Speedway (Auto Club Speedway of Southern California) for their first chase race and it wasn’t a delightful one where drivers raced in not a bad race, but not a good race in front of a less then stealer crowd that in the end saw Jimmie Johnson beat out his teammate Jeff Gordon to win the Pepsi 500. (Read article here)

Finally we come to last night’s slugfest at Lowe’s Motor Speedway for the NASCAR Banking 500 where crowds were also less then stealer, but unlike California Speedway (auto Club Speedway) the racing was entertaining from what I saw of it. ESPN on ABC really needs to do a better job on showing the entire field and not just the chase drivers and Kyle Busch.

This was a night that some chase races including Denny Hamlin, Juan Montoya, Brian Vickers (if he wasn’t already out of it) and even Mark Martin would like to soon forget as Jimmie Johnson put up (put up or shut up and Johnson puts up) to beat Kasey Kahne after a good battle between Jeff Gordon and Johnson to win for the 3rd time in the chase and 6th win in 2009.

However with the top 4 battling for the championship, who is still in the hunt for the championship, who is out and why?

Now while several media members have basically written this chase off and awarded Jimmie Johnson the 2009 Sprint Cup, I haven’t. Sure I picked Johnson to win the championship this season, but even though Johnson has a 90 point lead over Mark Martin and 135 point leader over Jeff Gordon, there is still fiver chase races to go including Martinsville next week followed by Talladega, Texas, Phoenix, and the finale in Homestead, anything can happen.

Jimmie Johnson leads over Mark Martin (-90), Jeff Gordon (-135), Tony Stewart (-155), Kurt Busch (-177) and Juan Montoya (-195), meanwhile, 7-12 are out of the hunt, so they are just fighting to be in the final top 10 to be up on stage at the awards banquet in Las Vegas.

I’m a little surprised that Kurt Busch is still in it because of the Penske Racing vs. his crew chief and only allowing his crew chief Pat Tryson into the shop once a week for debriefings, that is ridiculous, I guess they don’t want a championship. Juan Montoya was a welcome change to be in the championship for some fans, but after Charlotte with the drama of a ill handling car due to some damage on the right rear, he’s on the bubble. That just leaves Greg Biffle, Ryan Newman, Kasey Kahne, Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin and Brian Vickers on the outside looking in while with the exception of Denny Hamlin, it’s a big surprise if you look at their stats over the first 26-races.

I believe that while there is still five chase races to go, this is coming down to a top 4 battle for the championship with 5th and 6th on the bubble in the championship hunt, there are other drivers further down that in my opinion are completely out of it. All I have to say now is, Martinsville, Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin, Mark Martin and Tony Stewart…thoughts?

No more excuses for Auto Club Speedway, it’s time for some changes NASCAR.

Where were the fans at Auto Club Speedway in California for the NASCAR Cup Series Pepsi 500 race?

Let’s state the obvious, NASCAR needs to be racing in Southern California, it is a huge market for them. However when it comes to putting on an event such as show, concert or in this case a doubleheader race weekend, it takes two thing to get fans to buy a ticket besides weather (and hot temps don’t help), a good product and a reasonable priced ticket or for some, a package deal.

When it comes to a good product, some racetracks have it, while others just don’t. For me, short track racing and intermediate tracks for the most part have a good product as well as superspeedways in some fans eyes.

When it comes to California Speedway (Auto Club Speedway in Southern California), the product for some fans including me aren’t there anymore. This is due to a few thing, one is the size of the speedway, a 2-mile D-Shaped Oval and the other one is the new COT car in the Cup Series and I will give you an example.

This past weekend had a double header on television. In watching some of the Nationwide Series race and the entire Cup Series race, the Nationwide Series race for this racetrack was a good race. However the Cup series, while there was passing, it wasn’t a bad race, but not a good race neither. One fan told me it was a boring race. Others didn’t even bother watching either race at all.

For the Nationwide Series race, that one was interesting, I don’t know why NASCAR didn’t black flag or penalize Greg Biffle, that was rough driving plain and simple. But hats off to Joey Logano for coming back from being put into the outside wall early on by Biffle and battle his way back up past Carl Edwards to win the race…again.

Now all eyes were on the Auto Club Speedway on Sunday for the Pepsi 500. I can’t tell you how many press releases I received in my email box from the speedway itself tell me about each and every promotion, deal and news to come out of the speedway. Sunday was that day that was supposed to be huge, good weather and a chase race in Southern California.

The Speedway promoted several packages from a $35 ticket in rows 1-5, a $55 ticket that included a reserved ticket to the Pay-Per-View event “TNA Bound For Glory”, to a $148 ticket called the Jimmie Johnson Foundation package that Includes Pepsi 500 Ticket, Pre-Race Pit Pass, access to Q&A session w/ Johnson, limited edition #48 souvenir, $48 donation to the Jimmie Johnson Foundation and more.

The Speedway also appearances from Rock group Foreigner, Four-time Emmy Award winner and Pepsi 500 Grand Marshal Kelsey Grammer, Christian Slater drove the pacecar, Recording artist Jesse McCartney performs the national anthem, Audrina Patridge waved the green flag, and more.

According to scenedaily.com via Speedtv.com, during the race, they interviewed the president of the speedway Gillian Zucker. According to the article, she brushed off the attendance; she thought it was going to be “pretty flat” compared to a Labor Day date. The media estimated the crowds at 45,000 to 60,000 while NASCAR’s estimate where at 70,000. In reading the article, it bothered me a little bit, they really didn’t have the attendance that I thought they would and while I agreed with her that banking the track even more would be a bad idea due to safety, I disagree that this speedway deserves two cup dates.

The speedway did better with one cup series date, but I wonder if the Auto Club Speedway could even sellout with one Cup Series date.

Originally I wrote “Should the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana be converted into a high-banked, restrictor-plate track?” was a good idea, however some NASCAR drivers said it wouldn’t work, the speeds would be too fast and safety is number one in NASCAR. The truth is, other than making the track smaller, something like a unique track…Darlington or Phoenix or a Road Course, I don’t really know what configuration California Speedway should turned into from the 2-mile D-Shaped oval. Personally I like racetracks like Phoenix, Richmond, Darlington and especially Bristol. Why no track developers are creating another Bristol or Richmond is beyond me, short track racing puts on some of the best racing out there.

But Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pepsi 500 race was a different story. It seems like this is a year of just surviving races to finish in the top 10, let along the top 5 or winning the race. These drivers are driving all out just about every lap. They are up on the wheel. During the race, you couldn’t help but notice Dale Earnhardt Jr. having another good run, however like so many others, he was caught up in a late race “Big One”, but I don't know how it started because there was no real good view. One fan said Juniors tire went flat.

All four RPM cars were in the wreck. Afterwards, Kasey Kahne said something that got to me, he said it was a phantom caution or a NASCAR caution as some put it for the fans.Wow, I’m 3000 miles away in Massachusetts and I caused a caution, really? The debris was show on television and that’s exactly what fans want to see.

In the end, it was the man Jimmie Johnson who picked another victory this season over his teammate Jeff Gordon. I will say one thing, Juan Montoya is still in this chase which is a big surprise to me, but EGR and Montoya are doing it and he’s right, they don’t have much to lose. This chase is really down to the top 5 driver’s period.

After the race, I read a report that said the Auto Club Speedway wanted to move their Feb. date to mid-April, being the Phoenix date. No, no, no, you can’t take a good date from a racetrack that puts on an amazing product, a good race and move to it to a bad race period.

Bottom line, the product just wasn’t there and now changes need to be made in three areas. First in the speedway by removing one Cup Series date and either leave it as an open weekend or give it to Iowa Speedway or another track that doesn’t have one that is in a good market like California.

Two would be reconfiguration, but who knows how. And three, NASCAR needs to take some advice from Dale Jarrett, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and several other drivers, crew chiefs, crew members, owners and more on how to improve this COT car, otherwise you’re not going to have the best product at every racetrack.

The COT is safety, that’s a good starting point, what about fuel injection and going back to a rear spoiler? A better front splitter? Look at the new Nationwide Series COT. What do you think?

(Photo Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR)