NASCAR Evolution Theory: The Pinniped-aled Car of Today

by Charlie Turner

Thanks for stopping by OnPitRow.com and the Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie blog. The best NASCAR and IndyCar news and opinion, exclusive pictures and video. I'm Charlie Turner. Follow me on Twitter @onpitrow

March 13, 2012 10:05 am UTC No Comments

I enjoyed both the NASCAR Nationwide Series and Sprint Cup Series race from Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The racing has come a long way, on the track, since the intro of NASCAR’s Car of Tomorrow prototypes.

The evolution continues. So does the aesthetic weirdness. That aero device attached to the driver’s side c-pillar and deck lid – the so-called sharkfin – just keeps getting bigger.

In the NNWS race at Vegas, I kept thinking that the cars had a winged sprint car look to them. Maybe that’s why Ricky Stenhouse Jr was so good in his. He can wheel a sprint car.

I know that there is often a trade-off between good looks and performance on the track. I also know that NASCAR is working with the manufacturers to make the cars more street-car like.

NASCAR – and the teams – also fight the urge for more billboard space to sell to sponsors. That fin has possibilities.

But I digress. It seems to me that it’s only a matter of time before Bruton Smith gets a second date in Las Vegas. The France family parlayed their Kansas City combination of casino games and stock car racing into two dates for Kansas Speedway. With the show that LVMS puts on, I’d like another one there too.

Filed under: Bruton Smith, Car of Tomorrow, Kansas Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, NASCAR, NASCAR Tech, Nationwide Series, Sprint Cup Series

Tagged with: ricky stenhouse jr.

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