If the Car of Tomorrow comes to fruition in the Nationwide Series in 2010, the vehicle list will include “pony cars” from the manufacturers that choose to use the series to market those models to the public.
That includes the iconic Mustang — the quintessential pony car.
On Saturday when a NASCAR official spoke of the new NNS COTs, he beamed. It had been a long time since someone from the sanctioning body’s side of the sport was genuinely enthusiastic about the styling of a car.
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And when he mentioned “Mustang,” my ears perked. A Mustang? A true American sports car for NASCAR competition? And a Challenger, too?
I must be dreaming.
The new cars are expected to be closer to stock than any vehicle that the sanctioning body has run in the top two series since the dreaded term “aero-matching” rolled off spin-doctor tongues in 2000.
Manufacturers reportedly poured more than a half-billion dollars into the sport last year through factory and technical support to the teams, track support, vehicle programs and advertising. Yet NASCAR turned its back on Detroit with each generation of its race car as it morphed further away from what was on the showroom floor.
Yes, the new Sprint Cup car has proved to be safer. After the initial blow of scrapping entire fleets of the old car, the new model will be more cost efficient. The level of competition with the new car — at tracks other than intermediate and two-mile venues — has picked up considerably.
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