Common Templates, My Honest Impression

We all remember when a Ford looked like a Ford, a Dodge looked like a Dodge, they all looked very simular to the street cars we drove, minus the headlights and door handles. Over the years NASCAR addressed the advantages and disadvantages of different body styles and started making suttle changes to the cars in an effort to equal the compotition in regards to aerodynamics. This was always greeted with cries from the teams and questions about the fairness of each change. In more recent history all the cars had the same roof line but were allowed to keep their own identity by keeping the nose and rear their particular model. Still there were cries from the teams and the fans began to use the words “Common Template” and voice their displessure in the direction the sport was headed.Then came the ‘Car of Tomorrow’, with it’s primary focus on safety and better racing. It has been a tough struggle and is still viewed as a work in progress. Issues with handling and driver feel have plagued the current car, so much so, that NASCAR is looking at changes to the design as well as larger tires. This can’t come quickly enough for the teams and the fans. But will these changes solve the issues and silence the teams and improve the racing? Time will tell. I have my own opinion and feelings about the COT and the direction NASCAR hopes for the further evolution of this project. It is so easy to be criticle and search for fault, but this is not the purpose of this post from me today. I’m looking for the positive side of all this effort and trying to take a honest look at the results so far.First let me say I’m not a fan of the COT in it’s present form and honestly I’m not sure anything they do to this car will ever enable me to look favorablly on the racing as it compares to my memories of the early 70’s. The big cars with their distinct lines and the heros that drove them will always be part of my most cherished memories of the past. Looking at the present and the future, I have to say there is room for improvement, but it is coming. The safety of the drivers is a must and I feel NASCAR has addressed this and will continue this with the COT. The handling will take time and it is being looked at with very deliberate eyes by some of the brightest engineers in all auto racing. Better days are coming.Now on to the issue of the Common Templates. I was one of the first to make my opinion known to those in my circle and to anyone that would listen. I feared this would end NASCAR racing as we know it, and some could argue that it has. Looking at it now with an effort put on abjectivity and honesty, I find the arguements less substantial than I once did. The objective to remove an aero advantage of any brand of car is an improvement in some ways. No more “Take a half inch off the rear spoiler” of this brand and “Raise the front air dam a quarter inch” on another has been an improvement in my eyes. Some people look at it as we now have bigger problems than the previous Nip & Cut can fix. I’m not so sure about this. I find the racing today less exciting but I don’t see where running more stock appearing cars would answer all the questions that face todays racing. In my eyes, the body configuration of the COT has effected the racing less than we are willing to admit. Sure, the bodies are important, but something had to be done to address the safety concerns and the direction of the sport. I understand that common templates are the best way to improve equality among manufacturers. I see the biggest advantage at the top teams today as being more a people issue. The brightest engineers coupled with drivers and crew chiefs that have hit on that magical conbination of trust and communication, all backed MONEY will always be hard to beat, more so now in aero equal cars.I see enough effort and desire on the part of NASCAR and the teams that I see better days ahead. The racing, I think, will improve and the drivers will adjust to the new car as time goes by. Remember when the big blocks were being phased out, how many small blocks exploded during each race. My uncles thought racing was over. “How can you have a good race when so many motors can’t make it 500 miles?” It took time to overcome the many weaknesses in the small blocks, and today we have fewer engine probles that at any time in the sport. I see the COT as another bold step in the progression of NASCAR. Sure we are all suffering now, but I have faith that this will pass and the issues with the COT will be replaced by something new in the future, but that the end product will once again be better racing. As much as I dislike the COT, I’ve had to accept that smarter people than me have looked at everything and they truely believe that this is the best way to go. All I can do is trust the people that make the decisions and hope for something that reminds me of the glory days I hold so dear. Do you agree???

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