The common shape of things to come

Sporting News, The, March 25, 2002 by Lee Spencer

Now appearing at a Winston Cup track near you--the 2003 Fodgiac!

Fodgiac? That's the nickname in the garage for the redesigned Pontiac, which in essence is simply a third generation Ford Taurus. Same templates, similar design---only the decals have been changed to protect what product identity these cars have left.

When NASCAR approved the new model for the Grand Prix last year, it gave the Pontiac teams the templates from the Dodge Intrepid as a baseline for the design of the new car. NASCAR defines templates as "devices used to check the body shape and size to ensure compliance with the rules." They also are supposed to "closely resemble the shape of the factory version of the cars" But lately, any resemblance to the showroom models purely is incidental.

In 1999, when DaimlerChrysler decided to return Dodge to Winston Cup racing for the first time since 1985, the Ford Taurus was considered the strongest car aerodynamically. There were just 15 months to develop the Dodge for the 2001 Daytona 500, so NASCAR borrowed the Taurus templates to expedite the building process.

By the time Ford offers NASCAR the 2004 Taurus for approval this autumn, that car should prove to be the most aerodynamically efficient machine at the track, especially because it will have been tested and tweaked for more than five years with de facto help from Pontiac and Dodge.

In its search for parity among the manufacturers, NASCAR is moving toward the day when the cars are so close in design that the only things that may distinguish one make from another are the manufacturers' emblems and headlight decals.

Just line up the four makes of cars without identification--Ford, Dodge, Pontiac and Chevrolet--and see whether you can tell the difference. According to Winston Cup director John Darby, if all the cars were painted white, sans sponsor decals and numbers, telling them apart would be virtually impossible.

"Today we're not as far away from (common templates) as the outside might appear," Darby says. "Even with the differences of the manufacturers, the actual differences between the cars are not that great."

Two years ago, NASCAR floated the idea of a common template system under the guise of "aerodynamic matching," in which the four manufacturers would share the same guidelines for the basic shape of the car. That concept was not embraced by the manufacturers, who have spent millions over the last half-century to build brand loyalty with the fans. The automakers feared that Winston Cup would become a high-dollar IROC Series, in which the cars are uniform in shape, design and preparation.

However, common templates would benefit the teams because of the money they would save on testing.

NASCAR limits teams to seven tests a year (13 for rookies) on tracks on the Cup schedule, but nothing stops them from taking their cars to other speedways, proving grounds or wind tunnels. For most of the top organizations in NASCAR, testing occurs 50 weeks out of the year.

Teams test in an attempt to find out what adjustments on the cars work best at what type of tracks. With common templates, teams wouldn't have to test as often because all the cars would react the same aerodynamically.

Common templates also would eliminate a lot of the need for teams to lobby NASCAR for changes. If a certain make or model is not competitive as the season begins with Speedweeks at Daytona, politicking begins. Such was the case with the Fords and Dodges last month, when the aerodynamic disadvantages of those cars dominated the headlines.

The whining paid off. Ford and Dodge got aerodynamic concessions from NASCAR, to the chagrin of the GM products. Ward Burton won the Daytona 500 in a Dodge.

"Well, I think what happened is we saw how much complaining went on at Daytona and how much it did," says defending Winston Cup champion Jeff Gordon, who drives a Chevrolet. "They got changes right away. So that set the precedent for everybody else. If you feel like you're behind, you need to shout and say what you think and hope that they make changes as fast as they did for them."

Gordon isn't shy when it comes to fighting for the Chevrolets, which were at an aerodynamic disadvantage and proved to have 10 percent less downforce than the top-rated Dodges when NASCAR took the cars to the wind tunnel after Atlanta. As a result, the Chevys had less grip on the track and therefore didn't handle as well.

"I always say something," Gordon says. "I say it no matter where we're at. When I say it, it's behind closed doors, and I just give my honest opinion of where I think we're at."

In the long run, common templates would eliminate a lot of that lobbying, be cost-efficient and increase the importance of the driver.

Fans who have identified with the Dodge Ram, the Chevrolet bow tie or the Ford blue oval over the years can trade in their logo merchandise for caps with the peace sign, the trademark of the future.

Down the road

FOOD CITY 500

Bristol Motor Speedway

When: 1 p.m. (Eastern) Sunday

TV: Fox

Length: 500 laps, 266.5 miles