by Lee Spencer
Lee Spencer is a senior NASCAR writer for FOXSports.com.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The Car of Tomorrow is the Car of Now. End of discussion.

NASCAR's new full-time race car held up well during preseason tests at Daytona International Speedway, but how will it perform when a full field of 43 cars takes to the track on Feb. 17 for the much hyped 50th Daytona 500? Will all the fanfare surrounding the Great American Race be all for naught? Will the new car live up to NASCAR's expectations and stimulate side-by-side racing or will it have fans begging for a return to the good old days, and the good old car?

In NASCAR's State of the Sport speech last month in Concord, N.C., Chairman and CEO Brian France said the sanctioning body is "committed and convinced" that the new car will be competitive.

"Based on what we've seen in the events last year and what we're seeing today, we're very comfortable that that car is one we can build around for a long, long time," France said.

The COT already premiered at Talladega last fall, but how will it fare at the other superspeedway in Sprint Cup competition?

The jury is still out on whether the car will be competitive at the larger tracks. Although Cup teams raced the car at Talladega Superspeedway last season, the 2.66-miler is not a handling track like Daytona International Speedw


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