THE FUTURE IS NOW; The next Cup car is on-track, whether race teams are ready or not.(Motorsports)

Byline: J.P. VETTRAINO

Monday morning after the UAW-Ford 500, NASCAR held track tests at Talladega with what research and development honcho Gary Nelson described as "a few teams.'' It's not clear why Nelson chose not to identify the participants.

Word is Roush Racing and Petty Enterprises brought one car each, built in their respective shops to a new specification laid down by NASCAR. Talladega is the first venue where competitors have a chance to track-test "the car of tomorrow'' that has been under development for at least two years. NASCAR plans a test at Atlanta with a few more teams participating before the end of the season.

These future cars begin racing in 2007, NASCAR says. All three of the automakers participating in Nextel Cup have shared their thoughts with NASCAR and contributed to the development process of the next-generation car. Its primary objective-enhanced driver safety-is something no one will argue against. But not everyone (most particularly race teams) is entirely enamored with the car of the future due to the cost of changing over their fleets.

"Safety is everyone's first priority,'' says Greg Specht, North American operations manager for Ford Racing Tech-nology, "and this is a step along that path. But certainly there are concerns [with the rollout]. If the teams' priorities differ, it's up to them to express that to NASCAR.''

The future Cup car is essentially the same as the present car: a fully boxed steel-ladder frame with suspension and solid rear axle evolved from a multi-brand amalgam of parts dating to the 1960s. The changes lie in the space frame, or roll cage, built up from the ladder, and the sheetmetal that covers it. So what's the point?

"It's real simple,'' says Nelson. "Anything we can do to improve safety, we apply. Then we look at the impact on competition, how it will run in packs and how well it will allow passing back and forth, and finally cost to the teams.''