SCENEDAILY
BY LEE MONTGOMERY
ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Work continues on the Nationwide car of tomorrow program, with the four manufacturers helping to push up the timeline for development of the new car, Nationwide Series Director Joe Balash says.

Another wind tunnel test is planned, Balash said, after the four manufacturers in the series - Chevrolet, Ford, Dodge and Toyota - have constructed "identity" pieces for the car. The chassis is based on the Sprint Cup COT, but the body is all new and likely to be based on "heritage" cars for each manufacturer - though Toyota will likely be the only car maker to stick with the same model as in Sprint Cup.

"They're all anxious to speed the process up, so we're actually shortening the timeline that helps us get closer to locking some other things down that lets us move ahead with the rule book," Balash said. "They all had pieces, gathered information and had to go back and do some work. They've done that work. They're saying, 'We can come back sooner than what we thought.'"

Balash said NASCAR's plan is still to have the new car run the entire 2009 season, but officials from the sanctioning body have not formally announced the rollout.

NASCAR Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton said the sanctioning body is "in discussions on the rollout of the timeline of the Nationwide car."

Balash wouldn't commit to a timeline of development, saying he hoped NASCAR would get a finalized version of the body in "February, March, April."

NASCAR does hope to have the car ready for on-track testing in the second half of the year.

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They were discussing this again on Speed during practice today. Now they think it might not be ready for '09.

More on the Nationwide COT: “We are working very hard on the COT,” [Nationwide Series Director Joe] Balash explains. “We’ll utilize the NASCAR 110-inch wheelbase certified chassis, and it will be interchangeable between the Sprint Cup and Nationwide garages. [But] we’re going to do something unique with the bodies to give the Series its own look as opposed to the past.” The last point is a reminder of the dangers posed by creating a Nationwide car too much like their Sprint Cup cousins; and when you talk to Balash, you sense his focus at ensuring the next generation of Nationwide vehicles create a unique driving style all their own. “We want [the new car] to drive somewhere between a Truck and Cup car,” he says. “And we’ve been working with drag and downforce to be somewhere in between. We want the car to drive a little easier than a Sprint Cup car; [and while] there are some components of the body that are the same, we’ve relocated them. For example, we’ve moved the rear deck lid forward, and the same distance we moved it forward, we’ve moved the front of the body forward, helping the car turn just a little bit better in the corner. It’s been great to see from concept to the car in the wind tunnel.” When that concept becomes reality, the timeframe is still very much TBD. “My hope is to introduce the new car next year,” says the series director. “We’re looking at an August timeframe based on the conversations we’ve had with owners and others in the garage.”(Frontstretch.com)(5-2-2008)

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Auto racing, bull fighting and mountain climbing are the only real sports... the rest are just games........ Earnest Hemmingway