A change with rare – but welcome – good vibrations

My two cents

There was something different this week in NASCAR - positive response to something new.

On Tuesday, Roush Fenway Racing at its headquarters in Concord unveiled the Ford Mustang that will be used in four Nationwide Series races next season and full time in 2011.

For the first time since I started covering NASCAR in 1998, I heard positive reviews from people in attendance of a new car announcement. For the last several years, almost all the "new" cars have been virtually the same aside from the design of side windows and nose decals.

But this car, much like its counterpart from Dodge that I saw tested at Lowe's Motor Speedway earlier this season, actually kind of looks like a real production car in many ways.

Now, there are still numerous decals which help to provide that appearance, but the nose of the car actually includes physical characteristics of a production Mustang. The same is true for the Dodge Challenger I saw earlier this summer.

At the announcement Tuesday, Edsel Ford II said the proof of success would be in the race fan response that would come in the 24 hours after photos of the Mustang made their way across the Internet and into newspapers.

I contacted Ford officials on Wednesday to see what kind of reaction they received. They told me it was "about 90 percent" positive.

For race fans these days on any issue in NASCAR, that's pretty darn good. I would never be able to get 90 percent of my media colleagues to agree on any issue in NASCAR and for fans it would probably be harder with allegiances spread among 43 teams.

In the big scheme of things, the changes in the Nationwide car may not be huge, but I do think they are an important, positive first step.

And who knows. Since the new Nationwide car is built on the same chassis as the current Sprint Cup car, could we see the new car design sometime in the future in Cup?

I'm not going to go there - yet.

Notes

Kyle Busch improving

Kyle Busch, who stepped out of his cars in both the Nationwide and Cup series races at California while suffering from the flu, has improved this week, a team spokesman said.

Busch hopes to be able to race in both the Nationwide and Cup races without problems this weekend at Charlotte. Busch saw his doctor on Monday and has been resting this week, team officials said.

Park returning to Trucks Former Cup driver Steve Park will return to the Camping World Trucks series and drive the No. 02 Chevrolet for Corrie Scott Racing in the Oct. 31 race at Talladega, Ala.

Park, 41, has 2 Cup wins, three Nationwide wins, one win in Trucks and three in the Camping World East series in his NASCAR career. Leffler to deliver van Nationwide series regular Jason Leffler will help deliver a NASCAR-detailed van on Friday to 14-year-old Kody Harlow, who suffers from mitochondrial disease and must use a wheelchair.

Kody was named the winner of BraunAbility's FanVan Giveway and Leffler, who drives for Braun Racing, will take a "victory lap" in the van Friday at LMS before handing it over to Kody and his family.

Next race

NASCAR Banking 500

Where: Lowe's Motor Speedway, Concord, N.C.

When: 7 p.m. Saturday.

TV: ABC

Radio: Performance Racing Network

Last year's winner: Jeff Burton

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