NASCAR Shouldn’t Lose its Soul

If you’ve watched NASCAR lately, chances are you’ve heard about (or seen) the Car of Tomorrow. This is a generic car where the team slaps the sticker of their sponsor (Chevy, Toyota, Ford, Dodge) on the hood of the car, but the car is otherwise unaffiliated with the brand.

These cars are generally compiled from a conglomerate of random producers and don’t accurately represent the brands they promote. Proponents of this practice say that it evens out the playing field for all racers. On the other side of things, this has to hurt the sponsors somewhat, as the cars don’t resemble the actual models you can buy from these brands.

I think that NASCAR should allow the automakers to design their cars to at least somewhat resemble the real car. It will add more pride to the automaker who wins and allows a larger difference between the cars.

In tying the brand directly to the car being used, I’m not exactly sure who it hurts. The brands obviously win out, and I really don’t see any fans being offended by it, let alone losing interest in the races each week.

Along with changing the designs of the car they should be forced to use the power train of the car they are actually using to a certain displacement such as 6 L or so. By doing this, it brings a somewhat true meaning back to STOCK CAR.

All they should really need to do is to drive with an engine made by the car sponsoring them. Again, it adds a personal connection to the brand that many will lack should the Car of Tomorrow prevail.

On an unrelated note, I also took offense to last year’s races, during a time where gas prices were at an all-time high, yet the cars burned through gallons and gallons like there was no tomorrow during races. Many fans I know felt this was done in poor taste, and favor a shift to ethanol.

Not only would this win the hearts of many American fans, but it would legitimately help out American businesses. Just some more food for thought relating to an otherwise great sport.

Ryan Chandler is a NASCAR writer with strong opinions about the sport he loves. He regularly writes at his preferred NASCAR forum and plays NASCAR pickem on a weekly basis.