SPECIAL EVENT (VARIOUS LOCATIONS) - NASCAR COT PACKAGE PERSPECTIVES

NASCAR Drivers, Owners and Media Show Enthusiasm for Car of Tomorrow

Quotes on the Car of Tomorrow . . .

Q: Is the Car of Tomorrow accomplishing its other goals of improving competition and reducing costs?

A: It seems to be. On the competition side, people judge races differently sometimes. Some only watch lead changes, and others watch racing as it goes on through the field – and that has surely improved. The entire field has gotten closer. I think when you look at the cost side, many of the teams have only raced only two chassis in all the races previous to the race last week, so the opportunity for cutting down the stable of cars that is needed to race for the year, it definitely shows that it has that ability.

- Robin Pemberton, NASCAR Vice-President of Competition, 10-05-07

"From what I've watched, I would say [the COT] is becoming widely accepted because of the competition benefits we've seen from it. The drivers understand that the new car is a little more robust, which allows them to approach the race a little differently. They can race a little harder."

- John Darby, NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Director, 9-21-07

"The Car of Tomorrow is very important. I like that it [the Chase schedule] is 50/50. I like the opportunity that's ahead of us with teams having to focus half their time on COT races. Will they play a role in who is the champion? I think so. I think that you have to have a good Car of Tomorrow program if you want to win the championship."

- Kurt Busch, 9-13-07

“Drafting has been a lot of fun. I feel like the car drafted well. The speeds were a little bit fast (Monday) and they slowed the cars down (with the plates), but that’s understandable. We have the tools to slow them down. NASCAR did a good job with that.”

- Ryan Newman, 9-12-07

"I'm excited about (the COT). It's going to change the element of how Talladega races, and I think it will be twice as exciting."

- Kurt Busch, 9-12-07

"It's been a very well-spent two days. Overall we've got the cars running real stable and, for the most part, comfortable for the drivers. This is a very different restrictor-plate package than we've run here before. The new car and the new engine packages have produced a (31/32nd-inch) restrictor plate, larger than what we've had here."

- John Darby, NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Director, 9-12-07

“You can get away with a lot more pushing and shoving, because the cars have a lot of downforce, and they’re real comfortable to drive.”

- Jimmie Johnson, 9-11-07

"Forever, we've had a restrictor-plate car and a short-track and intermediate car. And although I would never walk down the path of being as naive as saying there won't be any differences, the cars will be much, much closer. The differences between the [.526-mile)]Martinsville [Speedway] car and Talladega car will probably be small enough that only a specialist in the field will be able to tell them apart."

- John Darby, NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Director, 9-10-07

"You hear so many things before coming here and you hear negatives, they all say it's a heavy car and so on. So you really don't think you'll enjoy it. But after the first few laps, you find out it's a real racecar and once you get it dialed in you can really drive it hard and precisely, so it's actually a fun racecar to drive."

- Jacques Villeneuve, 9-7-07

"I'm just too big, that's why I am so thankful that the Car of Tomorrow is here because I just can't get out of the car in a hurry. I tried it in the shop. I basically have to take my helmet off."

- Michael Waltrip, 9-4-07

“Also, the Car of Tomorrow shows that NASCAR is serious about limiting the technological advantages that some of its bigger teams enjoy. Will the COT do that? We don't yet know for sure. In a sport that comes down to fractions of a second, common sense says that the teams with the most resources will be the ones best able to squeeze the most out of their equipment. But at the very least, the COT demonstrates that NASCAR knows that its competitiveness is what makes its racing special. That knowledge won't keep foreign drivers from invading the sport, but it should help ensure that they handle their cars like Americans once they get here.”

- Mark Beech, SI.com, 8-31-07

“From the very beginning I considered the Car of Tomorrow an equalizer, enabling the smaller teams to compete on the same level as the larger, multi-car teams. I also liked the fact that the cars could race at a variety of tracks because of the restrictions NASCAR applied to the body. If every car's body was required to be the same width, same length and same height as it relates to its four tires, then it would be conceivable for a team to run the same car at Martinsville, Texas and even Watkins Glen. This would have a positive impact on each team's bottom line because the teams could compete each year with fewer cars. The other obvious benefit of the new car is safety. It has many improvements, all in an effort to keep the driver safer than ever before.”

- Ricky Craven, Yahoo.com, 8-17-07

"I think this car really equals out the competition. In the past, we had great races with Ron Fellows and Scott Pruett and those guys. I would say our cars were probably a little better than theirs, and that's why we were able to beat them. But in this situation, I think those guys could possibly really shine. They've got a lot of laps here, they're good here."

- Jeff Gordon, 8-12-07

"It's all going to become about the driver, about the engine, that's going to make it extremely tough if you don't have that top-tier driver."

- Robbie Loomis, Vice President, Petty Enterprises, August 10, 2007, Miami Herald

"I've warmed up to it a little bit because as a team, I think we've found a little bit of the ingredients as to what this car needs to feel good.”

-Jeff Gordon, NASCAR Driver, June 28, 2007, Boston Globe

"That was the biggest thing, the safety. I know some people enjoy the wrecks, but nobody enjoys seeing somebody get hurt. I feel the way the cockpit is built in this Car of Tomorrow, and the way they've done everything, it's a little bit safer. That's a really good thing."

-Carl Edwards, NASCAR Driver, June 28, 2007, Boston Globe

"From a cost and operations perspective, the move to the Car of Tomorrow in 2008 will benefit all the teams.”

-Roger Penske, NASCAR Team Owner, June 28, 2007, Boston Globe

"I think it makes sense what NASCAR is doing. We've got so many racecars that are too specialized for certain racetracks, now we'll have similar racecars where all you do is change the brakes, change the suspension parts, and go racing again . . . The move next year [to the COT] will make my move to [add] a second car easier."

-Robby Gordon, NASCAR Driver, June 28, 2007, Boston Globe

"I think the new car will look different [to the fans] -- it's growing on me. I think the fans will enjoy a little bit different styling and that's cool. But the race is going to be good there [in Loudon] no matter what we race."

-Carl Edwards, NASCAR Driver, June 28, 2007, Boston Globe

-Brett Bodine, NASCAR Director of Cost Research, June 28, 2007, Boston Globe “We've had more cars finish, more cars on the lead lap, more passes, tighter fields in qualifying. It seems on the competition side, it's been spot-on also."

-Juan Pablo Montoya, NASCAR Driver, June 25, 2007, Contra Costa Times "It's pretty good racing. You can pass people. It's pretty tough, and it's responsive to change. It's amazing. We made some small changes and everything was reacting pretty good."

-Jeff Burton, NASCAR Driver, June 25, 2007, Contra Costa Times "You can pass more with this car than you could with the old car just because it's so easy to slide the inside tire. And if you don't get in there just right, you slide up the corner and the guys behind you are getting a good shot (to pass)."

-Kevin Harvick, NASCAR Driver, June 25, 2007, Contra Costa Times "They are pretty fun to drive, to be honest with you. You can't just barrel them off in the corners and let off the brake when the thing turns. You have to somewhat finesse the thing around."

-Jeff Hammond, TV Announcer, June 25, 2007, FOXSPORTS.COM “The Car of Tomorrow should be great for the sport, allowing teams to re-use cars and ideally save money with fewer cars in the fleet.”

-Jeff Gordon, NASCAR Driver, June 24, 2007, Kansas City Star “It might make for a better race. That’s what I’m hoping. Hopefully, we’ll see a better race out of it because of that, where we see more passing. I hope that we don’t see one team just dominating. Being a road course, it’s going to be very interesting to see.”

-Matt Kenseth, NASCAR Driver, June 23, 2007, Associated Press "With all the rules we have with these cars and the gear rules we have and the transmissions and stuff, they're so much easier to drive than what they used to be a long time ago," Kenseth noted.

-Dale Earnhardt Jr., NASCAR Driver, June 23, 2007, San Francisco Chronicle "I was really surprised the car was quick as it was. You have to be real easy, be real careful and not push the car.”

- Denny Hamlin, June 2, 2007, Philadelphia Inquirer "I think it's the right call, I think it's 100 percent the right thing to do."

- Brett Bodine, May 28, 2007, NASCAR.com "I think it's very realistic. If you add the entire cost of a fleet of cars to compete in a series, versus the entire fleet that it's going to take with the Car of Tomorrow, number one, the car is going to cost less right out of the box and, number two, you're going to need less of those cars in numbers. That's where the 75 percent figure comes from. If you look at the 29 car [driven by Kevin Harvick for Richard Childress Racing], they've raced one car in all of the Car of Tomorrow races. No one would even think of doing that with the current car -- let alone a top team. People were thinking it would be the lesser-funded teams taking advantage of it, but this is a top-10 race team that did that. I don't think anybody has yet understood what that means to the entire program. It's really working."

- Darrell Waltrip, May 28, 2007, Associated Press "NASCAR won't allow this car to get as screwed up as the last car. Like this car or not, it corrects a number of issues."

-Jeff Green, NASCAR Driver, 5/22/07, Associated Press "I think it does help level the playing field somewhat for the smaller teams. NASCAR is able to keep a tighter lid on some of the trick things teams can do, and I think that will benefit the teams that don't have the depth of resources some of the bigger teams have. I see it as a positive move all the way around. First, the car is a safer design, and anything that can help keep drivers safe is something we should implement as soon as possible.

“As far as the racing, to me the car puts things back into the drivers’ hands more. With the cars we’re using now, either you hit the setup or you miss it. If you miss it, there’s not a lot a driver can do to make up for that. With the car of tomorrow, even if the setup’s not perfect, a driver can still make things happen and have a good run.”

-Humpy Wheeler, President of Lowe’s Motor Speedway, 5/22/07, Associated Press "While we will probably never again see the day when a young rookie like Ricky Rudd or Bill Elliot shows up at a track with a car they built in their home garage, we may see a return of the successful one-car operation. The end result is that in a couple years the playing field will be more level. The Car of Tomorrow will eventually create the most dynamic change in racing in the long history of NEXTEL Cup. As drivers and crews continue to adapt, the racing will be more competitive and we will see a significant increase in side-by-side racing."

-Michael Waltrip, NASCAR Driver, 5/22/07, Associated Press "It will help us tremendously because we're a start-up organization and it would help us streamline our efforts. It will save everybody money. It will be more competitive going forward and I look forward to it being all-in right away.”

-Eddie Gossage, Texas Motor Speedway President, 5/22/07, Ft. Worth Star Telegram "NASCAR made the right decision for the drivers, the teams, the racetracks [promoters] and most importantly, the fans. I like the car. I'm impressed with how well it's performed out of the box, and the fact that it's put on good races is a plus."

-Kyle Petty, NASCAR Driver, 5/22/07, NASCAR.com "It's a great move by NASCAR. I think we've gotten into some headaches with it in the races that we have run, but we need to race it more and more. We need to learn it and get into a rhythm. This will obviously do that in 2008. You have to applaud NASCAR for making this move. I'm all for running this car as soon as possible every week.”

- Roger Penske, Owner, Penske Racing “From a cost and operations perspective, the move to the Car of Tomorrow in 2008 will benefit all the teams. Initially, NASCAR took a conservative approach to the implementation of the Car of Tomorrow, but I think that one type of car in 2008 will be more efficient for team operations and should provide good, competitive racing for the fans.”

- J.D. Gibbs, President, Joe Gibbs Racing “From Joe Gibbs Racing’s standpoint, it’s clear that this is the road we’re going down with the Car of Tomorrow. NASCAR and the teams have spent many years developing it. We’re running it at a number of race tracks this year, and it was clear that we were running it full-time in the future. It’s very difficult for teams to run both the Car of Tomorrow and the current car simultaneously.

“Across the board, most everyone’s feeling in the sport is that we’ve come out of the box and have had some good experiences with it, so let’s just implement it full-time in 2008. We’re on board with that, and for us, it makes a lot of sense.

“Give NASCAR credit. We trust them to make good decisions. For the 16 years that we’ve been in the sport, we’ve seen amazing growth. A lot of that credit is due to NASCAR and the way they manage the sport and handle it. If we have problems or issues, we can go to them and address it the right way and they’ll listen. The encouraging thing for us with this project is that we’ve gone through a huge transformation within our industry and to be able to come out of it and advance the Car of Tomorrow’s timetable – that should make everyone feel good, because it means we’re going in the right direction.”

- H.A. “Humpy” Wheeler, President and General Manager of Lowe’s Motor Speedway "The Car of Tomorrow will eventually create the most dynamic change in racing in the long history of NEXTEL Cup. As drivers and crews continue to adapt, the racing will be more competitive and we will see a significant increase in side-by-side racing.

"This car is also going to be safer and by 2010 potentially save each team $1 million per car annually. We will get away from dependence on aerodynamics and extremely soft setups. NASCAR's inspection process will also be much faster and simpler.

"While we will probably never again see the day when a young rookie like Ricky Rudd or Bill Elliot shows up at a track with a car they built in their home garage, we may see a return of the successful one-car operation."

"The end result is that in a couple years the playing field will be more level."

Terry Blount, writer-ESPN.com, 5/9/07 “The COT is designed this way on purpose. The car is harder to drive. It's supposed to be harder to drive. One of the goals of the COT was to put racing back in the hands of the drivers by eliminating some of the aerodynamics. It also forces the teams to make mechanical adjustments to try to find more grip. It's a positive if drivers are forced to slow down to make it through the turns. Slower speeds equal better races and tighter fields.”

Jonathan Baum, writer-Yahoo.com, 5/8/07 “Kyle Petty said flat-out that his son Adam and Dale Earnhardt Sr. might still be around if the Car of Tomorrow had been raced back in 2000 and 2001 (and you can add SAFER barriers and the HANS device to that mix). Petty has a perspective on this that only a handful in NASCAR share, and considering what he has lost, it's impossible to argue.”

Johnny Benson, NASCAR driver, NASCAR.com, 5/6/07 "These [Cars of Tomorrow] drive like racecars. It's different than the [standard] car, but it's not like the truck by any means. They are a little bit different to drive, but I wish I had a lot of opportunities to drive 'em, because they are unique. The races I've watched -- they put on great races.”

Jeff Hammond, writer-FOXSports.com, 5/4/07 “With great racing during the first three Car of Tomorrow races, Saturday night's event at Richmond International Raceway is going to be one of those races that you don't want to miss.”

David Poole, writer-Charlotte Observer, 4/26/07 "The first three races with the [Car of Tomorrow] have had remarkable finishes. That's a pretty good batting average."

Terry Blount, writer-ESPN.com, 4/25/07 “Drivers continue to complain about the COT being hard to drive, but the results so far are promising. Two of three COT finishes included a side-by-side battle to the checkered flag. And the Phoenix race had passes for the lead in the final laps. The average margin of victory for three COT races is .275 seconds. So we have a safer car with closer finishes. How can you argue with that?”

Tom McCarthy, writer-NASCAR.com, 4/24/07 “In three COT races, the margin of victory has been 0.826 seconds. That's not each race, that's all three races combined. Say what you will about the players involved, these races have all been nail-biters with no margin for error for the victor. Throughout the field, front to back, the COT races have also shown us that these cars can bang on each other without sending one car or the other into the wall. Again, this is a result of the car's inherently tight handling characteristics (as well as the car's flat flanks and vertical wing-shaped endplates on the rear wing). By luck or design, Gary Nelson and the other evil geniuses at NASCAR have developed a car that, to date, produces closer racing and fantastic finishes.”

Jeff Gordon, NASCAR driver, 4/21/2007, Associated Press “Well, I'll be honest with you; it was better than I thought it was going to be. I really thought that once you got out front, all you had to do was just mirror drive and there's no way that guy (behind you) had a chance. But Tony (Stewart) got by me and then I got by him. It was better than I thought it was going to be; it really was.”

Jeff Gordon, NASCAR driver, 4/21/2007, Associated Press "I've warmed up to it a little bit because, as a team, I think we've found a little bit of the ingredients as to what this car needs to feel good."

Kasey Kahne, NASCAR driver, 4/21/07, Gaston Gazette “As far as the Car of Tomorrow is concerned, I don’t know if that’s the future or what it is. It’s definitely different, and it looks better to me today than it did a year ago. The future, to me, is something that looks really aerodynamic, something like an airplane or an Indy car. I don’t think that big box we’re driving is really the future, but it’s going to be our future. It’s going to be a cool car to race as time goes on. I don’t think it’s futuristic, though. I think it’s just different.”

Jeff Burton (Phoenix, April 2007) "I think the Richmond test was a big challenge to get the cars to drive the way we wanted them to drive and I think it will be the same here this weekend. But I think that what we did see at Richmond was speeds that were pretty equal amongst the field and I think we'll see that here as well."

Jeff Gordon (Phoenix, April 2007) "I've warmed up to it a little bit because as a team, I think we've found a little bit of the ingredients as to what this car needs to feel good. So that's a good thing.”

Jeff Gordon (Phoenix, April 2007) “Well, I'll be honest with you; it was better than I thought it was going to be. I really thought that once you got out front, all you had to do was just mirror drive and there's no way that guy had a chance. … My car was real good on new tires, but I will say, it was better than I thought it was going to be; it really was.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Richmond Test, April 2007) "I don't have any issues with the Car of Tomorrow. We [DEI] don't have the resources a lot of these teams are putting into the new car, but we've worked hard and we had a good car the past two weeks."

Jimmie Johnson (Martinsville, April 2007) "If this had been last year's car, with that bumper, I would have been wrecked. It seems like these cars (with the new bumpers) are more forgiving. You can't just knock the guy out of the way; you actually have to pass him."

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Martinsville, April 2007) "I think the Car of Tomorrow adapted pretty well to this place,"

Ed Hinton, Chicago Tribune (April 2007) “Johnson conceded he had a little help from the Car of Tomorrow design in its second Nextel Cup race. On traditional cars, the front bumpers are much lower than the rear ones. So a trailing car can ram a leader from behind and lift the rear end of the first car up off the pavement, sending it momentarily out of control so that the driver has to lift, and the second car can pass. It has been a common tactic on short tracks, and Gordon has been a master of it. But on the Car of Tomorrow, the front and rear bumpers are of almost equal height. So rear-ending a lead car doesn't break it loose.”

Jeff Burton (2007 Bristol Test) "I think all in all, from a driver's perspective, once you get in the car, it's just a car. It's a matter of getting the car to do the things you want it to do. Obviously there's people that are faster than others. That's what we do. In my world, it's no longer about the Car of Tomorrow, it's just about a car, trying to do it better than everybody else. ... The Car of Tomorrow is here today. We've been working hard on it."

Kevin Harvick (2007 Bristol Test) "The first thing about it is the car is safer. Whatever it is after that is a bonus. The drivers have more room inside. There's a lot of things built into the car to absorb energy when they hit the wall. That's just the starting point. ... The bottom line is, NASCAR has to make the best decision for them. They felt it was time to evolve the car and make it safer, and the teams will figure out the rest."

Jimmie Johnson (2007 Bristol Test) "Here we're really trying to find out where the sweet spot is with the car. ... It's just a whole trial-and-error routine right now, procedure, trying to find that sweet spot where the car wants to be. ... I'm excited for this opportunity with the Car of Tomorrow. Chad and I do a great job of working through new rules packages. We have a whole new race car to play with. I'm excited. Hopefully we can use that to our advantage."

Kurt Busch (2007 Bristol Test) "Overall, I think the car is a resounding success for all the teams and for the way it’s going to put on a good race when we come back here next month."

"It’s a clean slate, so who ever works the hardest and is the most determined and still continues to keep an open frame of mind will succeed in the end. I’m intrigued by it. It’s a new challenge. It has 50 percent of The Chase races this year, so the car of tomorrow is very important.”

"It creates an environment where an underfunded team can come in and compete and I believe compete successfully with so many unknowns around this car right now. That’s what we want, more independent owners and new drivers coming in and having a shot at victory. The car of tomorrow is doing that right now. It’s so wide open."

"We’re definitely excited about this car and what it can do for our team. All of the short track races are a different mentality that you have to bring when you want to set up this car. It’s a new challenge. It’s fun. The first race is at Bristol, and it’s just like jumping into a full tank of sharks and swimming around with them. We’ll see who comes out on top."

Denny Hamlin (2007 Bristol Test) "It really doesn't drive that much different to tell you the truth. I am just as comfortable in the Impala as I am in the Monte Carlo."

"It means our team has done a whole lot of homework on this program the last couple of years. This is the first really official test where guys are bringing their race stuff. I am pretty happy about where we are standing because not only are we fast, but we are really good on the long runs and that really matters here. I am definitely excited to come back."

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2007 Bristol Test) "The Impala SS actually drives better than our other cars do here. The car is an inch wider, it has a little more grip. I am really pleasantly surprised really. It has exceeded my expectations at this point and how the car is driving. I anticipated it to be a little more of a struggle get the car to turn, to work, to get it up off the corner. Our lap times are comparable with the other chassis we have been running here the past couple of years. I think we are ahead of the game a little bit, as far as I thought we would be, we are ahead of that."

Carl Edwards (2007 Bristol Test) "It’s kind of fun to drive. It’s fun everywhere for me, except for the center of the corner where it won’t turn, but it’s gonna be a great race."

David Gilliland (2007 Bristol Test) “I’ve only raced here one other time, but I really can’t notice a difference. I think the race will be better. I think everybody is a little more even now as far as time-wise and I think it will be a better race.”

David Reutimann (2007 Bristol Test) "I’ve never run a Cup car here at Bristol so to me this really feels like a NASCAR truck with a lot of horsepower.”

Andy Graves, Senior Manager for TRD (Toyota Racing Development) U.S.A. (2007 Bristol Test) "It’s just a learning process. All the teams and the manufacturers have been working with NASCAR real close and trying to learn the process and trying to get the body built as tight as they want to see them and the chassis. It’s a learning process and it’s something that we’ve never been through before with such tight tolerances on the chassis side. It’s going to take a little bit of getting used to, but just like anything else, once you learn the process and understand what NASCAR wants then we’ll get it sorted out.”

Rick Viers, Crew Chief, No. 84 Red Bull Toyota Camry, Team Red Bull (2007 Bristol Test) "We have progressed well all day long. We’ve learned a lot and AJ (Allmendinger) has learned a lot about the Car of Tomorrow. It’s probably been a pleasant surprise that things have gone as well as they have.”

NASCAR driver Kurt Busch:

"In the end this Car of Tomorrow is going to be a good thing."

“I thought it was great…We had to make sure of fender clearances, so we just went two laps at a time. It really shook out to be positive. We played with (rear-) wing angles and different engine-plate combinations. I thought the car could handle any speed it wanted to go."

"It gets back to a little of what they have with the Truck series - big drag that slows the car down aerodynamically, but an 'open' motor (without the restrictor plate) that has the horsepower we're used to at all our other tracks."

"It was real interesting to drive. It was right on that edge of sliding all four tires, similar to what we get with the regular car in the draft."