50 Cup teams run COT through paces at BMS By NASCAR.COM February 28, 2007 10:23 AM EST type size: + -During the break in the Nextel Cup Series schedule this weekend, a project that has been seven years in the making will have the opportunity for a full scale walk-through at Bristol Motor Speedway. Fifty Cup teams are scheduled to test Car of Tomorrow models on Wednesday and Thursday at Bristol. The test session is the third of seven scheduled Cup sessions this season. Previous tests this year have been conducted at Daytona and Las Vegas, while Richmond (April 3-4), Lowe's (May 7-8), Dover (May 14-15), and Talladega (Sept. 10-11) will host tests later in the year. "I just feel strongly that opening up a wider space of air will help the competition, help the drivers be able to pass better than they are able to now." -- Ned JarrettThe COT will make its race debut March 25 in the Food City 500 at the infamous .533-mile Bristol short track. That race marks the first of 16 events the COT will be on track in 2007, as NASCAR's new safety-oriented car will race at oval tracks less than 1.5 miles, along with the two road course events and the October race at 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway. "The Bristol test should be a good dress rehearsal for the race teams, drivers and NASCAR as we prepare for the first Car of Tomorrow race later next month," said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR's vice president of competition. "It should provide the teams with a good opportunity to fine tune their set ups and become more familiar with how their cars are going to handle and give NASCAR the chance to have a trial run in getting its inspection process for the new car all buttoned up." When the COT was introduced, it was met with a truckload of critics. It's too boxy, they said. It's a regression in technology. The changes can be made to the current cars. Today, the arguments have grown to include budget concerns, timeline issues and downright ugliness. But there's one argument that'll never hold merit in Gary Nelson's eyes. "Whatever argument people use, they can't argue the safety side of it," said Nelson, who at the time was NASCAR's vice president of research and development. "I sleep at night because we know this is a safer car