Racing's Latest Relic

It used to be that Red Bulls of all kinds were crammed into the race shop tighter than a used car lot. But building one is unusually barren these days (see picture), thanks to NASCAR nixing the body style that had been in place for more than a decade.

“We have absolutely no use for that car anymore. Plus, we need the space,” admitted one shop worker.

The Sprint Cup Series goes all Car of Tomorrow in 2008, rendering useless a hearty portion of Red Bull Racing Team’s fleet of Toyotas. By the end of December, Red Bull Racing Team will have constructed 50 cars in its first year. Twelve of them, however, became obsolete when the checkered flag waved at Homestead. We had more “old” cars, but they didn’t survive the rigors of a 36-race season.

For argument’s sake, let’s say 43 teams did away with 15 cars apiece. That’s 645 cars, and at more than $100,000 per race-ready car … well, you do the math. But in case you’re numerically challenged, that’s about $64.5 million. And trust us, the cars don’t sell for nearly that much on the open market that includes ARCA, NASCAR’s two Grand National divisions and driving schools.

Apparently, the COT isn’t cutting any costs just yet.