Anticipated in mid-June, the rulebook for the Nationwide Series' version of the Car of Tomorrow is still under review, pending final details, it has been revealed.

Furthermore NASCAR won't decide on the specifics of a rollout of the new car until the rules are set and the sanctioning body meets with owners, Nationwide Series director Joe Balash added Saturday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

"We've got a couple of last things that we've got to finish up on," Balash explained. "As soon as we do that, we'll be able to get ready with the teams. It's just a few minor items.

“We want to make sure that we have everything set and ready to go before we hand that book to the teams and say, 'Here's what we've got.'"

With the economy worsening late last year, NASCAR opted to delay the introduction of the new car, originally planned for August 2010, until 2011.

Sources have told Sporting News that the most likely scenario involves a partial rollout next year at superspeedways (Daytona and Talladega) and road courses (Watkins Glen and Montreal).

Like the rulebook, however, Balash said the introduction of the Nationwide car (which differs from its Sprint Cup counterpart in such features as a spoiler instead of a wing and traditional spring front suspension instead of bumps stops) hasn't been set in stone.

"We're going to talk to (owners) about a couple of different options, and we just want to make sure we get that feedback from them before we announce the implementation," Balash said.

Ford and Dodge have opted to run versions of their muscle cars - Mustang and Challenger, respectively - as their Nationwide entries with the new car. Chevrolet reportedly has resisted NASCAR's urging to run its Camaro and instead will field the Impala SS, the same brand it runs in the Cup series. Similarly, Toyota will run a Nationwide version of its Cup car, the Camry.

"You'd have to ask Chevrolet what the reasons are behind their models that they choose," Balash continued.

"We talk to all the manufacturers about the types of vehicles that they're running in the series, and Chevrolet ultimately has the decision about what they're going to run as part of their brand marketing."

Representatives from Chevrolet were not available to respond to questions about the choice of models to be used in the Nationwide Series.


by Reid Spencer