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Mike Harper
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07/29/2007 - 07:00 PM
Midland, MI
A basic shell of NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow sits in the garage area at the Nascar Research and Development Center on January 22, 2007. (Photo: Streeter Lecka/Getty Images for NASCAR) » More Photos
I think it's fair to say the implementation of the Car of Tomorrow in NASCAR has been a tough pill for some to swallow. Drivers, owners and race fans have thrown their opinions on the table and whether you like or dislike NASCAR's future car, the fact of the matter is the Car of Tomorrow will be a reality next season.
NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow was designed to improve competition, make it more cost effective for teams to build and increase driver safety. These initiatives are important to the sport, but the effects of the new car will be felt beyond the long arm of NASCAR.
In my opinion, NASCAR's decision to change cars will challenge the ARCA RE/MAX Series to evaluate their future direction. And while I would point out the change in NASCAR should provide positive results for ARCA teams in the short term, I do have concerns on how this will impact ARCA in four to five years from now.
A view of a rear Spoiler on a Car of Tomorrow, during NASCAR Car of Tomorrow testing at Bristol Motor Speedway on Febuary 28, 2007. (Photo: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR) » More Photos
One selling point of the Car of Tomorrow is NASCAR teams can reduce expenses by not needing to maintain the massive inventory of cars like they have today. Currently teams have an average of 10 to 12 cars on hand at any given time during the season, giving them plenty of cars to sell off throughout the season to teams competing in other series including those teams in ARCA. This means moving forward NASCAR
In the short term as NASCAR moves to the Car of Tomorrow at the end of this season, ARCA teams will have immediate access to a large inventory of current Nextel Cup Series cars. One Dodge team in the Nextel Cup Series said they haven't been approached by ARCA teams, but a Chevrolet team did confirmed ARCA teams have approached them in an effort to secure some of their inventory. According to the team, current cars will be sold to ARCA teams and to driving schools. But with half of their cars being sold at this point of the season, it's evident some ARCA teams are looking at getting a head start on the future.
While some ARCA teams are jumping at the opportunity to purchase Nextel Cup Series cars, one reality for ARCA is NASCAR teams will no longer be building the current cars. This leads to the questions of when or will ARCA move to the Car of Tomorrow and can it maintain its strength as a development driver series?
"Where do you decide, when do you make that curve, four or five years from now? Do they chase the Car of Tomorrow and allow those cars to trickle down? That's the big question, " said SPEED analyst Ray Dunlap. "ARCA has always been a system that allowed the Nextel Cup equipment to trickle down and allow it to be more affordable for younger drivers or other teams to go out and buy the equipment."
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