Mock Car of Tomorrow race planned?

NASCAR’s car of tomorrow [COT] will get another test drive on Monday, October 31st following the cup race in Atlanta. The teams of Jack Roush, Roger Penske, Rick Hendrick, Ray Evernham, Joe Gibbs, DEI, Richard Childress and Richard Petty are planning on bringing their first versions of the bigger car. While the first race with the car of tomorrow is tentatively set for a year from now, NASCAR will stage a mock race after the 2006 July event at Daytona with 25 or 30 cars to give the drivers and teams a feel for what the new vehicle will do under competitive conditions. Teams may have to run it in every race beginning with the 2007 season; however Jack Roush says he and other owners have campaigned for a gradual phase in when they met with NASCAR last week. Roush said, “If it goes far enough out so that we can balance out our existing cars and our existing parts the cost will be significant but it will be minimal. If they would decide that starting in 2006 or 2007 we had to run all the races with all the cars it would be a much worse problem so they (NASCAR) are open minded, they are thinking about the schedule and if they’ll relent and accept the schedule that we have proposed at that time the cost will be certainly palatable." PRN's Garage Pass Radio Show