Bristol COT Test

Bristol ran the COT's most recent pre-competition test session during the late-winter bye week for Winston Cup, and it allowed teams and drivers to further shake down these cars before their debut at the end of March.

The test produced several incidents, notably Ward Burton's crash during an added night session on the first day of testing and Clint Bowyer's wreck late in the test. It also saw teams attacking front-end grip to keep the splitter off the ground. The speeds as expected were noticably off the track record, but then the cars will be faster than what they were in this test come late-March's Southeastern 500.

Some drivers expressed surprise at how well the cars drove, but what was interesting was what was not said - no indication was given that the cars race well. In fact, the consensus seemed to be that the cars don't race well. Of course being Bristol it isn't the best venue to gauge long-term raceability with these cars - and in this test only twelve cars were ever on the track at any point of the test - but it nonetheless can tell us something, and that there seemed indication that the car does not race well seems in keeping with the running theme of COT testing - the car's inferior raceability in dirty air. And given how important it will be to keep the splitter off the ground, it seems unlikely that truly raceable setups will proliferate come the Southeastern 500.

Of course the mantra was repeated that "The COT is here," but there remains no guarantee that it will stay here. Given shrinkage in attendence and TV ratings, the sport is taking a chance with the COT and had better have a backup plan for the project's likely failure to live up to its hype.

What the Bristol test seemed to confirm is one of the key problems with the COT - it punishes aggressive driving and aggressive setups. Those, though, are the kind of driving and setups that make good racing; conservative driving and setups has never made good competitive racing. This bottom line is a bottom line NASCAR can ill-afford to have to relearn.