NASCAR Determined To Police Car Of Tomorrow.

SONOMA, Calif. (AP) _ NASCAR is determined to take any guesswork out of its new Car of Tomorrow. <br/><br/>With a new system of templates and sensors to measure the parameters of the taller, wider and

Sunday, June 24th 2007, 4:35 pm

By: News On 6

SONOMA, Calif. (AP) _ NASCAR is determined to take any guesswork out of its new Car of Tomorrow.

With a new system of templates and sensors to measure the parameters of the taller, wider and reputedly safer car, NASCAR chairman Brian France said the sanctioning organization wants to leave no doubts that it will come down hard on infractions.

``We have to lay down the law,'' France said Sunday at Infineon Raceway, where the Nextel Cup cars raced in the Toyota/Save Mart 350.

That doesn't bode well for the teams of Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, who were parked for Friday's practice and qualifying after NASCAR inspectors found front fenders on their COT Chevrolets had been illegally modified.

The two Hendrick Motorsports drivers were allowed to practice Saturday and race Sunday, starting from the rear of the field, but it is expected that NASCAR will follow up in the next few days with more severe penalties, possibly including the loss of drivers and owner points, six-figure fines and suspensions for the crew chiefs.

Asked if NASCAR is taking all the creativity away from the teams', France said, ``There will always be room for imagination and ingenuity in the sport. But we don't want this thing to revolve around technology. It's important to keep it in the hands of the drivers.''