definetly it appeared the new design produced much more tamed accidents - those heavy cars seem much more stable and harder to damage than the old.

the race was OK though; seems Ryan Newman's win was largely in part to luck...

 

I hope that the COT is not the end of "the big one". No one got hurt but it was fun to see a 10 car wreck. The drivers might start to get more aggressive in the COT because they know it's stronger and less likely to get super loose.

 

Agreed...I especially like the impact absorbing foam they've intelligently placed on the right side of the car. It used to be when they rubbed the outside wall, the body crushed in and cut the tires, sending the car spinning off into the rest of traffic and causing a huge wreck, taking a bunch of innocent bystanders out of the race and causing the yellow flag to be out for half the race.

Now the cars hit the wall and drive away back to the pits for repairs. I think I remember seeing someone rub the wall and make to the pits with the green flag staying out the whole time. That's awesome to me. I know some people enjoy the spectacle of the crash, but I would rather see more cars finishing and more green flag racing and pit stops.