NASCAR to add COT date

UPDATE This rumor is downgraded to 'false' today. NASCAR says it won't run the car of tomorrow at Talladega next spring. Some teams had wanted it because they will have to build a special car for the track with its new surface. Teams figured might as well make it the car of tomorrow since that car will be used at Talladega in the fall. NASCAR said no. Series officials say they told teams they would run 16 COT races, not 17 and they're keeping to that. Virginian Pilot

10/17/06 There's talk NASCAR might add one race to the "car of tomorrow" roster for 2007, opting to run the new vehicle in the spring race at Talladega, Ala.

Talladega's fall race was already to be among the 16 using the car, with the rest of the restrictor-plate races being added in 2008.

But the teams apparently have told NASCAR that the new paving job at Talladega changed that track so much that they'd have to build new cars for the spring race anyway. It would certainly not be cost-effective for them to spend about $150,000 to build cars that'd be good for that race only, then have to employ a "car of tomorrow" from then on.

NASCAR hasn't made a decision, but indications are it's listening. The truth is that some top NASCAR officials expect team owners to ask that the new vehicle be used in all races in 2008 instead of waiting to 2009 to phase in the intermediate tracks such as Lowe's Motor Speedway. Charlotte Observer