Course laid out for 'car of tomorrow'
DAVID POOLE

BEACH, Fla. - - NASCAR's "car of tomorrow" will be phased into
competition beginning with short-track and road course races in
the 2007, Nextel Cup Series director John Darby confirmed Monday.

As a second week of Cup testing began at Daytona International
Speedway, Darby said NASCAR will soon announce an official
schedule for the new car's implementation. That could come next
Monday on the first day of the annual media tour hosted by Lowe's
Motor Speedway.

Darby confirmed that plans are to use the car, which is
approximately 2 inches taller and 4 inches wider than cars currently
used in Cup competition, at short tracks and road courses in 2007,
then at the circuit's largest tracks of 2 miles or longer in 2008,
and finally at intermediate tracks in 2009.

But, Darby said, he expects to see teams "accelerate" that schedule
once the phase-in begins, figuring they'll want to see the new car
used at more intermediate tracks sooner.

"Within the next couple of weeks we'll release the official 'car of
tomorrow' schedule and that will be the official schedule," Darby
said.

"We'll say, 'Here is it, we're not turning back.' ... The important
thing is to get that official schedule out, because when it goes out
it's printed and everybody says, 'here's the deal,' and then it's
time to get going.

NASCAR tested its own prototype of the car of tomorrow with a rear
wing assembly here on Thursday, and plans another test on Thursday
of this week with as many as eight prototypes made by various Cup
teams.

"We've made a ton of progress with it over the winter and it's down
to small changes now," Darby said. "We're doing a lot of work with
the wing right now to test it out and see how it's going to work.
It's has been real positive. We will keep pressing on and in '07 it
will race."

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/motorsports/13638720.htm

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