Comments on: Woody: Drivers Alive Today Because of Car of Tomorrow

By: The Stock Car Gazette e-zine for Thursday, 10/01/09 | The MotorSportsNews.Net(work)

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:02:46 +0000

[...] Woody: Drivers Alive Today Because of Car of Tomorrow – http://www.racintoday.com/archives/10439 [...]

By: SB

SB — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 01:17:48 +0000

Surprising to know that the SAFER barriers and HANS device have had nothing to do with driver safety. One wonders how so many drivers managed to survive so many awful wrecks (a couple dillies at Pocono I remember, and Daytona and ‘Dega, well…

I’m sure that the COT has safety improvements. But to attribute that as the only reason drivers walk away from wrecks seems like yet another attempt to turn a pig’s ear into a silk purse. Racing cars is a dangerous passtime. That’s why most of us will never attempt it. Perhaps, with the higher center of gravity, bump stops, and reluctance to turn, the COT is also responsible for some of the wrecks. Can’t tell.

By: Dave

Dave — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:05:07 +0000

I don’t think people understand what the gripe is with the COT. No one is complaining about the safety improvements. However, most of the safety improvements could have been updated on the old car. The complaints come from the limited chassis alterations. It has basicly ZERO suspension at speed. It rides around with the shocks bottomed out on plastic spacers. If it isn’t about perfect at the start of a race, you can’t dial it in. Safety, We are all for safety. But competition is what NASCAR was looking for with THIS chassis design. The hope was that if the car handled bad enough, more passing, lead changes, and number of winners would increase. But as always, the cream rises to the top. The teams that ran well before run well now. Safety is GREAT! COT still sucks.

By: dawg

dawg — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 20:40:48 +0000

Your article is knee jerk at best. Every time someone wrecks a COT we get this same story. The Cot IS safer. No argument there. The car MAY have saved death or injury. We don’t really know. You have to consider the entire package. The Hans device, & so called “soft walls.”
When a car is rolling, & shedding parts. It’s dissipating energy. I remember some much worse near 200 mph flips on high speed tracks with the old car. Rusty, & Ryan Newman come to mind. I don’t EVER remember an injury from this type accident.

By: Christian

Christian — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 18:00:16 +0000

So, this is the way life is now. Every time there is a wreck, we have to make the claim that the “new car” saved that drivers life. Nevermind that guys have been walking away from horrifying crashes in the post Dale Earnhardt era for a long time.

Is this car safer? It probably is, but the old car was pretty darn safe too. Ask Matt Kenseth, who flipped at Talladega in the nationwide race, and (gasp) lived to tell about it.

Honestly, it doesn’t even bother me to talk about the safety improvements in the new car. They are there, they are important, no one wants to see drivers killed (or crippled/brain damaged, ala Jerry Nadeau) while racing. However, to act as though every bad wreck we see would have resulted in death to the driver in the old car is totally absurd.

Frankly, the fact that the car rolled over at all is the more important problem in my eyes. With the lower center of gravity on the old car, it probably wouldn’t have even happened. It isn’t the first time that the COT has rolled in situations where the old car never did. Nascar should fix that… oh, and make the COT not so butt ugly while they are at it.