Jun 30

Written by: The Commish
6/30/2010 4:11 PM 

The new Nationwide car that will run in four races this season before becoming the series standard next year has a problem; the same problem that made people shrug, scream or just lose interest when the NASCAR Cup COT was introduced. 

The new Mustangs and Challengers don't even look close to stock.  The Dodge isn't as much of a stretch as the Ford but still;  fake front ends on genericars just don't do it.

Look at every Cup car from the side and you'll notice the roof heights, windshield and rear window angle, and the basic front and rear end shapes appear identical.  The hoods and decks and fenders look identical, too.  That's because for all intents and purposes they are.  NASCAR reduced the variables between manufacturers to level the playing field and make tech inspection easier.  They figured decals and slight variations in the shapes of side windows would satisfy those fans who had brand favorites for a reason.

They figured wrong.  And now that same policy has invaded the Nationwide Series, right when it needed the right move most.

Years ago I worked for a 'fun kart' manufacturer that made 5 HP lawnmower engined, centrifugal clutch go karts in various shapes and sizes.  There were body styles for IndyCars and F1, generic hot rods, NASCAR trucks and the company's most popular product, NASCAR Cup car go karts.

We had small scale Chevy Monte Carlo and then Lumina bodies, Thunderbird and Taurus replicars, and Pontiac and Buick karts, depending upon which major NASCAR-related sponsor was buying cars as part of a big promotion.

All the cars were the same.  The chassis was mass produced, the engines were all Briggs & Stratton or electric and the all the bodies were heat and vacuum formed from the same large sheet of poly-something-urene using the same " NASCAR" mold.

The only difference between the cars was the color and the decals. 

Except for the engines, thank God, that's the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series today.

Maybe I'm just so used to the Cup COT that the Nationwide Toyota's and Chevy's don't bother me.  But Mustangs and Challengers appear to have more front deck than rear, with lower rooflines with a lot more windshield rake and completely different side windows.  The Dodge silhouette is wrong but nowhere near as insulting as the Mustang because Mustangs are fastbacks.  

The Nationwide Mustang isn't.  It looks like a COT -- which it is -- with a Mustang grill.

Yes it will be difficult to make changes that will bring back brand identity on a visual level; you know, the level that's most important to people who buy tickets and go to the races or watch them on TV or read about them online and in magazines.

But NASCAR's got to do it.  If they want to stem the flow of apathy that, the lousy economy aside, has attacked attendance and viewership, they better revisit the branding element of their product, the cars people pay to watch on track, immediately.

Stock cars needs to look one hell of a lot more like what race fans see on the street and in the showroom.

The Nationwide Series should be Ponycars only, with an exception for the Camry, and greehouses should be mfr -specific.  Safety shouldn't be compromised but the rulesmakers can't just ignore the proportions of the 'stock' cars they're basing their race cars on.  NASCAR needs to equalize the cars by adjusting the front ends or wings or any of the other things they used to adjust way back when, when Mercurys, Chevys, Buicks, Fords, Oldsmobiles, Dodges, Plymouths and AMC Matadors raced together.

NASCAR got rid of the wing on the Cup cars and says they're going to revise the front ends and splitters in an effort to restore some sense of a relationship between the race cars and the real-world Fusions, Impalas, Camrys and Dodge Charger. 

Good start.  But they better include Nationwide cars in their efforts.  

And sooner than later.

 

Copyright ©2010 The Commish