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Tony Stewart on NASCAR being too safe-thus-boring: "The media center is getting boring in here and it's too safe because y'all got four legs on your chairs. So we can start sawing legs off, you like that idea?" More »
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We reported last year that the next battle in the Muscle Car Wars (patent still pending) might play out on the oval tracks of Nascar's Busch Series. We were only partially right, as testing of the Nationwide Series (formerly Busch Series Leagues) 2009 Car of Tomorrow began yesterday at Richmond International Raceway. Dodge showed up at the test with their new Dodge Challenger — with more than a mere sticker set for the headlights and grille. Thanks to NASCAR's decision to relax a-pillar-and-forward "manufacturer identity" modifications there's actually a Challenger inset grille and what appears to be raised hood areas — just like the real car! Shoot, it's the closest thing we've seen to a realistic-looking stock car out of a NASCAR league in decades. Unfortunately, they're looking to be the only muscle car on the track as Ford'll be running a Taurus (weird decision, we know) rather than a Mustang, Chevy will be running a we-don't-know-what (we're told it's not going to be the Camaro) and Toyota will have themselves another Camry with stickers. (Hat tip to SmokyBurnout!) More »
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In a terrifying, post-apocalyptic, doomsday scenario envisioned by the brains at the IBM Institute for Business Value, every new car on the market in 2020 would be some kind of a hybrid. Not only that, but they project cars which communicate, avoiding accidents and taking over certain driving tasks. The findings were published in a paper, ominously titled "Automotive 2020: Clarity Beyond the Chaos," after the consulting branch of Big Blue interviewed 125 auto execs across the globe. More »
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Yeah, so, that Car of the Future episode of Nova with Click and Clack just wasn't all that good, sorry about that. The episode should probably have been called "Moments of forced laughter from two funny old guys in between John Lithgow talking down to the viewer about the car of the future". However, buried in the muck and mire of that episode was an interesting segment about the Rocky Mountain Institute and their work with lightweight materials, like in their Hypercar above, built with all carbon fiber superstructures and components. More »
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NASCAR officials announced today that the Car of Tomorrow, the zenith of decal engineering, will be the full-bore machine for next season, replacing today's old, inferior Cup cars completely. The phase-in period, which had originally been laid out over three seasons has been accelerated, meaning that every stop on next year's Cup tour will be contested by the new vehicles. Somewhere, deep beneath the Great Pit of Carkoon, the Sarlaac yawned. We swear, we totally heard it. – Davey G. Johnson More »
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Aerodymics play an ever greater role as racecars start hitting ridiculous speeds. Wind tunnel testing can help figure out what's going on, but wind traveling at 200 and something miles per hour likes to try to stick to the floor of the wind tunnel, and creates an error in readings. The race car usually makes this same ground disappear in a hurry as it rolls. Haas CNC Racing NASCAR team owner Gene Haas in conjunction with Jacobs Engineering has created the first rolling road testing facility in the United States known as WindShear Inc. The one-millimeter thick continuous steel belt will roll at over 180mph, and features sensors under the bed that can take readings at each wheel. At top speed the wind tunnel fan will circulate 2.85 million cubic feet of air per minute! The facility will be available for rental to motorsports teams and manufacturers when it opens later this year. And yes, that's a genuine actual-size race car up on the rollers. Second photo for scale after the jump. Don't forget earplugs. – Mike Bumbeck More »
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It ain't a Superbird, but hell, at least the new car's got a wing. Yeah, we know, it's still NASCAR, but whatevs, maybe today's race with the new Car o' Tomorrow will be more crash-tacular. We'll see. The race begins at 1:30 EST today at Bristol...I think it's the fast Food City 500 or something. – Ray Wert More »
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Get your jet fuel and oxidant ready Waltrip, NASCAR is introducing the "Car Of Tomorrow" after five years of testing (it takes a lot of engineering to drive in a circle). Designed to improve safety, performance, competition and cost efficiency for teams, the Car of Tomorrow fits all four current templates (Ford, Toyota, GM and Dodge). The car will make its debut at the Bristol Motor Speedway and will be used at sixteen events on tracks less than a mile and a half in length. One of the features we look forward to most is the deatchable wing! – Matt Hardigree More »
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