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The Rock '99 & NASCAR News


2000 Monte Carlo???

It appears that the debut of the 2000 Monte Carlo Winston Cup (WC) race car has been hung out to dry, just like getting stuck in the middle lane in a restrictor plate race. From what I can glean from the information being passed down from the powers that be, NASCAR is dragging it's feet.

Chevrolet, team owners, and drivers, are all at odds over the release of the new race car. Since NASCAR is weeks away from final approval, they are talking about a debut in late August at the Brickyard 400. Chevrolet has spent millions in an advertising campaign that was designed for the release of the race car to coincide with the release of the street version that was supposed to take place Memorial Day at the Coca Cola 600 in Charlotte, NC. The team owners and drivers have been apprehensive about this because of the change of body style near mid season. Owners and drivers will no doubt be involved in a points battle, and the new car could have a drastic effect on it's outcome.

Now, the Chevrolet teams are saying that if it's released in late August, they probably won't use the new race car, and jeopardize their points standings. They will wait until February and start the new racing season with it, after they have had the off season to test, tune, and tweak the new racer so it will be competitive. I certainly can't blame them for that. There's a lot of money and prestige on the line when it comes to owner and driver points, so why risk it on an unproven commodity?

Chevrolet isn't pleased with the aspect of the February 2000 release, they want the new race car to come out as soon as possible after their new street version. As it stands now, they are going to have to move their promotional schedule, and drastically change their advertising agenda. They claim that the drivers and teams were receptive to the switch during mid-season, and don't know why the August debut would be any different. The drivers and teams tell a different story, saying they have voiced concern over the switch all along, citing the problems with the release of the Taurus so close to the start of last years season, which didn't allow enough time for the building and testing of the new race cars.

NASCAR officials are worried about the body configuration of the new car. They don't want Jeff Gordon to have more of an edge than he already has. Ford is lobbying NASCAR to force Chevrolet to make the car aero-dynamically even with the Taurus. So, the flap continues, and probably will throughout the season. NASCAR has just gone to great lengths to make the Taurus, Grand Prix, and Monte Carlo as even as possible with their new spoiler and front valance rules, causing untold labor and financial hardships to the teams and sponsors. The new race car would make them start from scratch during mid season, causing even more hardships to all involved. Because of the cut back in testing schedules for the teams, and the fourteen straight weeks of racing during the summer, teams wouldn't have a chance to catch up to any new changes in body configurations.
The copyright of the article The Rock '99 & NASCAR News in NASCAR is owned by Thomas M. Sampson. Permission to republish The Rock '99 & NASCAR News in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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