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Portable inspection for race cars: advanced technology changes the rules and helps enforce them, too.

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This story was written by staff writers with the assistance of outside contributors.

When Nascar driving legend Dale Earnhardt Sr. died in a final-lap crash during the 2001 Daytona 500, it stunned his legions of fans in the auto racing world. However, it also jump-started a movement by Nascar to recast safety regulations and put racing competitors on a more level surface.

Largely as a result of that tragic occurrence, Nascar, the paramount stock car racing organization in the United States, announced on Jan. 11, 2006, the creation of a universal car it called the Car of Tomorrow.

The Car of Tomorrow, a new race car style for Nascar's Nextel Cup Series, made its debut in March 2007 with much fanfare. After years of development, Nascar's Research and Development Center conceived a race car that would improve driver safety and refine component designs to improve performance baselines and overall competition.

Located in Concord, N.C., the Nascar R&D Center is a $10 million facility where a team of experts has focused its attention and ingenuity on the overall safety of the sport without forfeiting speed or competition.

Every racing team pushes the envelope to win, and many go so far as to engineer and build different cars for different track conditions. As a result, cost has spiraled out of control. Well-funded teams have up to 15 cars or more. The Car of Tomorrow program has implemented measures to control product costs and reduce the practice of manufacturing track--specific cars.

The R&D team developed an adjustable rear wing and a front splitter, along with a refined body and a chassis measurement process, intended to create a level playing field for large and small teams with varying amounts of investment dollars.

Thus far, four COT body types have been approved: the Chevrolet Impala SS, Dodge...

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