Reed Sorenson said soft walls and seat improvements are more important than an whole new car. Credit: Autostock

For safety, Sorenson wants seats, not COT

Rookie says new car costing teams loads of money to build

HAMPTON, Ga. -- Add Reed Sorenson's name to the list of drivers who are less than enthusiastic about the Car of Tomorrow.

The car, scheduled to debut next spring at Bristol, is touted as a more cost-effective, safer version of today's machine.

Reed Sorenson said a recent crash was easier to take because of a carbon-fiber seat and soft walls. Credit: Autostock

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But Sorenson, speaking Friday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, said that improvements to seats and soft walls are just as important to the actual safety designs built into the Car of Tomorrow.

"Soft walls are huge," Sorenson said. "Two weeks ago at Charlotte, I blew a right-front [tire] and hit the soft wall and I had a carbon-fiber seat. That was as hard as I want to hit, and I came out with no issues at all.

"The soft-wall technology is probably one of the biggest things that has helped that."

Sorenson is worried that the new, boxier car will hurt the quality of racing. He tested the car at Bristol and Homestead, and teammate David Stremme tested the COT at Michigan.

"From what David is saying, he was leading the pack at one point and ran really good times; he went to the back and couldn't pass one car," Sorenson said. "He said he couldn't pass anybody.

"Most places we go this year, the racing is really good -- side-by-side racing anywhere we go."

Sorenson's team, Chip Ganassi Racing, has built only a few COTs, mainly because NASCAR has not finalized templates for the cars.

"The reason they waited to build them so long is because NASCAR changes some of the things on the car," Sorenson said. "We are going to have a bunch of cars that we have to sell. It is costing the teams a lot of money -- I mean, a lot of money."

Tony Stewart joked that the Car of Tomorrow, with its wider body and high roofline, is ugly.

"Me and my dad were talking about that last night," Sorenson said. "I think they are ugly. That is not a bad thing to say, but they really are kind of ugly."