AUTO RACING PACKAGE: Team owner Jack Roush doesn't foresee reduced costs with COT

Longtime team owner Jack Roush likes the idea that NASCAR's new Car of Tomorrow will cut down on the number of cars a team will need. But Roush doesn't go along with the idea that the COT will eventually be a big money-saver for Nextel Cup teams.

"The Car of Tomorrow, I think, will have a result in the reduction of the number of cars that are required to run a program,'' Roush said. "But, do I think that the cars will be enough less expensive to be a net save to the teams? No.

"I absolutely feel that there will not be a net save to the teams based on the amount of money that goes into the cars to get the chassis the way that NASCAR wants it for its inspection; then, past the initial inspection, the amount of sheet metal that has to be replaced to fix a relatively small problem.''

He said that even the most minor damage to the cars would require a complete body "because when you get the kind of shot into the body that causes a snout to bend, you almost always have some amount of distress that is put into the rest of the car.

"And, when we had reasonably wide-open, or relatively wide-open tolerances, you were able to let the tolerance be taken out by the effects of the crash. You can't do that now.''

Roush said he would be all for somebody stamping out a complete steel body that could just be welded onto a chassis.

"The amount of precision that's required to get the sheet metal in order to pass the tech line is unprecedented in terms of what we've had (in the past),'' he added. "For the time being, we anticipate at least a 70 percent to an 80 percent increase in labor that's required to keep these cars ready to go from one race to the next.''

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DUTCH DEMO: Champ Car rookie Robert Doornbos was the big attraction this week during the Bavaria City Racing demonstration on the streets of Rotterdam in his native Holland.

The Minardi Team USA star drove a 2006 Lola Champ Car in front of an estimated 500,000 people, turning increasingly faster laps on the specially prepared street circuit.

"There was an unbelievable reaction from the fans,'' Doornbos said. "Initially, I went round the course waving to the fans but, when I got in the Champ Car, I really smoked it up right the to the end. They gave me brand new tires, but you could see the wire poking through the rubber by the time I got to the finish.''

Although it featured more than just Doornbos' Champ Car demonstration, the Rotterdam event served as an introduction to the series before it visits the Zolder, in neighboring Belgium, and then returns to Holland for a race in Assen over the next two weeks.

"After I jumped out, I had the chance to meet a lot of the fans, and it really was incredible,'' said Doornbos, who is second in the season points behind Frenchman Sebastien Bourdais. "The whole day was fantastic for Champ Car. It is a really popular series on television and the fans are looking forward to seeing the series live in Europe.

Doornbos, who has two wins in 10 starts this season, trails three-time series champion Bourdais by 37 points.

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PASSES TEST: Just days after winning an Indy Pro Series race at Kentucky Speedway, Super Aguri Panther driver Hideki Mutoh passed his IndyCar Series rookie test at Chicagoland Speedway.

The Japanese driver will make his IndyCar debut in the final race of the season, Sept. 9, at the Joliet, Ill., track. He will join current Panther drivers Vitor Meira and Kosuke Matsuura in a three-car effort for the season finale.

"It was a very productive two days and I was able to pass the rookie test,'' Mutoh said. "I was able to learn how the changes affect the car and tried different car balances too. I am very happy that we were able to practice pit stops and I now know what it's like.''

Team owner John Barnes, who has developed young IndyCar talent before, including former series and Indy 500 champions Sam Hornish Jr. and Dan Wheldon, was especially impressed.

"Hideki did unbelievably well in the test,'' Barnes said. "He continues to impress everybody at Panther with his ability to adapt to these race cars and our style of open-wheel racing.

"We tested a lot with him over the two days at Chicagoland. He didn't get to run in traffic, because there wasn't any, but we worked on pit stops, starts, restarts and in- and out-laps. We're training him to be a champion, and that takes a lot more than just going fast.''

Mutoh, who now has two wins this season, is ranked second in the Pro Series championship, trailing series leader Alex Lloyd by 98 points.


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