end of the decade. One particular area of scrutiny was driver safety; Dale Earnhardt fatally crashed at the 2001 Daytona 500, and the safety of the cars used at the time was questioned. The Car of Tomorrow (CoT) was first tested in December 2005, and was first revealed to the public in 2006, with numerous safety improvements being touted. The CoT made its debut at the 2007 Food City 500, and was almost immediately criticized by both fans and drivers alike. Many fans disliked the large and boxy design, its more generic appearance and the use of a detached wing. Kyle Busch, who won the debut race of the CoT, proclaimed that the car "sucks" after his victory and expanded on this criticism at Dover in 2008 by noting how the CoT was "hitting a wall of air" in the wake of a leading car, thus neutralizing ability to close up on leaders. Busch was not the only driver to vent his frustrations; Jeff Gordon was also critical of the car, stating after the 2007 New England 300, "I'd like to know who it was who said this car would reduce the aero push because I could have told you from when I first drove this car that it would be worse." Despite the criticism, NASCAR implemented the model full-time in 2008, and overall brought dramatic safety improvements and reduced costs of car maintenance. Despite the overall safety improvements, one point of contention was that the rear wing increased the severity of on-track accidents by causing cars to be more prone to flipping over or going airborne at higher speeds. After three such incidents between 2007 and 2010, NASCAR switched to a more traditional rear spoiler instead. In a retrospective interview in 2015, Brian France believed that the introduction of the model as his biggest failure, due to the lack of manufacturer identity, as well as its perceived effects on its racing. Even after the implementation of the Generation 6 model, some fans still cite the CoT for causing the decline of NASCAR. Writer Christopher Smith of Car Throttle wrote that, "...NASCAR rules pretty much require all the race cars to be the same - no individuality aside from stickers that differentiate the models. NASCAR television ratings and fan interest has been decreasing for years, and as far as I’m concerned, this is the main reason." The Generation 6 cars