NASCAR’s intention was to promote safety by, among other things, adding downforce with a giant rear wing and moving the driver closer to the center of the cockpit. The tests have produced no major gripes from drivers, so that’s a good sign.
But aside from the unknowns, there has been one consistent complaint: The car just isn’t very pretty.
Cup cars are hardly the beauties of the racing world. They’re heavy and as aerodynamically sound as NASCAR allows — which isn’t very much. Open-wheel drivers have derisively referred to them as taxicabs.
The CoT seems to make it even worse. The shot of Bill Elliott testing a Red Bull Toyota (below) looks more like a road-racing Porsche than a traditional Cup car.
Cup cars run as fast as they do because the powerful engines push the beast through the unwilling air. The engines will have to work that much harder to achieve the same speeds for a less aerodynamic car.
Aesthetics are one thing, and so long as NASCAR’s primary motivation is driver safety, it’s hard to complain about the CoT. If it does its job and prevents deaths or serious injuries, the looks, frankly, don’t mean a thing. Clearly, safety is the most important factor.
But that doesn’t change the fact that the CoT just isn’t very visually appealing, no matter how petty that may seem.

(Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images via NASCAR)