Future takes shape: the Car of Tomorrow's design takes a lot of the air out of racing.(NASCAR)

When you hear the term "Car of Tomorrow," what vision comes to mind? George Jetson piloting above the Skypad Apartments? Or maybe Anakin Skywalker's pod racer in Star Wars." Episode I--The Phantom Menace?

Though NASCAR's latest innovation is not yet out of this world, the Car of Tomorrow (COT, for short) definitely will be a departure from the "stock cars" of today.

Several versions of the bulkier COT have been developed at NASCAR's Tech Center in Concord, N.C., as engineers have studied myriad ways to make racecars as safe as possible. The primary focus is to make the car larger, which will insulate the driver better. Another goal is to reduce aerodynamic sleekness, resulting in slower cars.

NASCAR officials say the new design also will eliminate the need for specialized cars at individual tracks, making it possible for teams to decrease the size of their stables by 40 to 60 percent. Team owners across the board disagree with that assessment.

Nextel Cup drivers Carl Edwards and Kyle Petty, as well as NASCAR project engineer and former driver Brett Bodine, tested the speedway version of the COT at Talladega in October. That version could make its race debut there a year from now. Teams will incorporate the COT into their lineups full time by 2007.

Edwards believes the racing with the new cars "is going to be wild."

"From a driver's perspective, I think the cars are going to be a lot safer," Edwards says. "At least at a place like Talladega I would be ready to race those cars tomorrow just because they're safer, so I think it's a good step forward."