The Wall Street Journal-20080215-WEEKEND JOURNAL- Sports -- By the Numbers- Fast- Not Furious

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WEEKEND JOURNAL; Sports -- By the Numbers: Fast, Not Furious

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This weekend's Daytona 500 marks the start of the "Season of Tomorrow" in Nascar's Sprint Cup series. It's the first full campaign in which teams will use the so-called Car of Tomorrow. That controversial car -- designed to be safer and cheaper to run, and promote closer racing -- represents the biggest single change in car specifications in Nascar's modern era. "It's created a huge challenge for engineers and drivers alike," says Diandra Leslie-Pelecky, a University of Nebraska physicist and author of "The Physics of Nascar," published this month by Dutton.

The COT's defining characteristic is its shape. Viewed from above, last year's car was shaped like a kidney bean, and was offset to the left, so that it literally turned by itself on a speedway's banked left-hand turns. "The car looked like it had already been in an accident," says Nascar's Gary Nelson, the "father" of the Car of Tomorrow. The COT has much less offset -- about an inch -- so it's less eager to turn.

Viewed from the side, the COT is boxier than the previous generation car, and has less inherent downforce -- the aerodynamic pressure that keeps cars all but glued to the track in the corners. In those earlier cars, engineers used relatively soft springs to force the car into a streamlined "hounddog" stance in turns, with the nose moving closer to the ground and its rear fenders high. The COT has less front ground clearance, which prevents this kind of setup.

The new car features adjustable aerodynamic devices -- notably a shelf-like splitter in front and an adjustable wing in back -- much like the wings on Formula One and Indy Cars. These devices can be easily adjusted at the track, but demand a whole new way of thinking from race engineers. "It's taken away a set of tools that teams were very comfortable with," explains Dr. Leslie-Pelecky, "and replaced them with a whole new set of things to change."

Which team has adjusted best so far to Nascar's brave new world? The Hendrick Motorsports team, which features Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon, won nine of the 16 COT races run last year. The Hendrick advantage should continue this year, with new team member Dale Earnhardt, Jr., winning both last weekend's nonchampionship Budweiser Shootout and the first of yesterday's two Gatorade Duel qualifying races at Daytona.

While engineers have largely come to grips with the challenges posed by the new car, most drivers seem to yearn for their old wheels, with driver Elliott Sadler comparing the Car of Tomorrow to an SUV. "They don't really know how far they can push the car, " says Dr. Leslie- Pelecky. "I think it's a good test of which drivers are most adaptable."

Even if they're not having as much fun doing it, drivers are still going fast, thanks to the COT's increased engine power. In last year's Budweiser Shootout, Kyle Busch was fastest through Daytona's turn one at 188.99 mph. This year Ken Schrader was fastest at 192.17 mph.

One purported advantage of the COT is that it's designed to handle better in traffic -- eliminating the "aero-push" caused when a car's front wheels lose traction after the car in front disrupts its airflow. This makes it easier for the pursuing car to pass with less risk of a chain-reaction accident. The result: 64 green flag passes for the lead in this year's Shootout, compared with 29 in last year's race.

Still, the COT is a work in progress. As it runs its first Daytona 500, look for the drivers and teams that are furthest along on the learning curve -- notably Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin (who won the second Gatorade Duel race yesterday) as well as Messrs. Johnson, Gordon and Earnhardt Jr. of Hendrick -- to do the best.