By Jeff Gluck
Associate Editor
Scenedaily
Thursday, June 05, 2008
COMMENTARY
This weekend, Kyle Busch will attempt to pull off a nearly unthinkable feat: Win a race in all three of NASCAR’s top divisions while running in three different locations.
That’s a great idea for Busch, who has become the story of the season by winning 10 races across the three national series. If the opportunity is there, Busch should take every chance he gets to show off his talent and collect more trophies.
However, it’s long past time that NASCAR take away that chance. Nothing against Busch, it’s just that drivers should not be allowed to race in multiple series.
As Busch would say: “Duh!”
The first column I ever wrote about NASCAR questioned why drivers can race in different series while driving full-time in another. That was hundreds of articles ago, and I still don’t get it.
Over the last few years, I’ve toyed with various views on this subject. Sometimes I understand why NASCAR allows drivers to run in both the Nationwide Series and the Sprint Cup Series.
One, they say it sells tickets and boosts ratings on the Nationwide side. Two, they claim sponsors would go away if Cup drivers weren’t driving Nationwide cars.
Certainly, those are valid points to some degree. But recently, I’ve come full circle to my original thought: Get the Cup guys out of the other two series.
The Craftsman Truck Series works well and is doing just fine because it has original personalities and different drivers. They usually don’t overlap into either of the other two series, except when Busch shows up.
But the Nationwide Series is a mess right now, and has been for the last few years. Cup guys swoop in and run away with the championship and the vast majority of the race trophies.
Think about the recent all-star race weekend for a minute. Perhaps the best thing about that night was the Sprint Showdown, where AJ Allmendinger held off Sam Hornish Jr. to transfer into the all-star event.
Why was it great? Because Allmendinger and Hornish don’t win every week – or ever, actually – and so it was refreshing to see someone else battling for the lead besides the usual suspects.
Look, it’s great if we see Busch, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin or Tony Stewart dominating races or ending up in victory lane. But do we have to see it two days in a row, every week?
NASCAR is probably right. The Nationwide Series does get a boost from the Cup drivers right now.
But there’s a reason: No one knows who the heck the Nationwide drivers are. Cup drivers grab all the headlines and the attention, so it’s hard for fans to get to know a Marcos Ambrose or a Jason Leffler.
That would completely change if Cup drivers were banned from the series. Take out every Cup driver, and David Stremme would have won last week’s Nationwide race at Dover, followed by Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski.
A week earlier, Keselowski would have been in victory lane, perhaps followed by Stremme and Ambrose.
Steve Wallace and Stremme would have led a 1-2 finish for Rusty Wallace Racing at Darlington, ahead of Jason Keller and Chase Miller.
Those would all be fantastic stories. Week after week, fans watching the races on ESPN would learn more about drivers like Keselowski, Ambrose, Wallace and Keller. Or Brad Coleman and Landon Cassill, who are two of the most outgoing personalities in the sport.
The character of these drivers would shine through – just like the Cup guys – and people would eventually start tuning in to see the Nationwide Series on its own merits, not just because Cup guys are involved.
Maybe drivers like Keselowski and Wallace would develop a rivalry worth tuning in for.
Instead, we see Hamlin lecturing Keselowski on how he should move over for Cup guys.
It’s frustrating, almost to the point of madness, that NASCAR has such a great opportunity for its second-tier series yet wastes it by allowing Cup guys to run the show.
Nationwide and ESPN, as partners, should step up and tell NASCAR it wants the series to have a unique identity and stop being Cup Lite when the Nationwide car of tomorrow arrives.
If it doesn’t work, everyone can always go back to letting Cup drivers in. Why not give it a try for a few years?
Sure, the idea might stumble at first, as fans try to learn the new drivers. But once the “no-names” start making headlines of their own, the series will thrive beyond anything it is capable of right now.
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I agree. I've always said that full time Cup drivers shouldn't be allowed to run in the truck series at all. Nascar should put a limit on how many Nationwide races cup drivers can run.
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ok how about a radical idea... imagine that from me eh? so how many have watched the lemans series? rollex 24 hours of daytona etc? so how about putting cup, busch and trucks on the track all at the same time? what you say? why not.. imagine 60-80 cars on the track at the same time, they obviously run at different speeds, so they will be in each others way, and the added benefit.. I won't have to be glued to my hd tv for the entire weekend... might actually get some extra time to spend with my kids and go fishing etc... this way no driver can run all three series or even two.... they will have to select one, and only one... and keep the races the same length.. so the trucks will have a 250, busch a 350 lapper and the cup boys 500... sooo by the end of the event only the cup guys will be on the track... ok so how about opinions on this???
I don't mind Cup drivers in other series. If anything, it can help the regulars
of the other series step up their game, and see up close and personal what
they are working toward.
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It's just not fair that cup regulars win the Busch/Nationwide Series title every year. Those Nationwide regs don't stand a chance! Would it be fair if MLB teams went down to the minor leagues and won every game they played on the way to a Championship in the South Atlantic League (just an example) Obviously that is not possible due to the schedule, but u get the idea. It's like the Patriots playing for the Canadian Football League title. It's just bullcrap! I also think that as long as they allow this, they should make a rule that they cannot win the championship. The top busch regular driver should be awarded the championship imo.
I wouldnt mind either, just as long as they didnt run all the events. They are not helping the regs in the Nationwide and truck...but only taking away their spotlights. Lets just think about something...If Kyle wins a nationwide race, and hmmmm maybe KKFAN finishes 11 in his first race, ppl will be paying attention and talking about Kyle, and not even recognizing KKFAN for his great run. U see it all the time, and it has even happened in the cup series just the past few races. Look at the great runs blaney has had these past 2 weeks, he did not win, so he isnt talked about or recognized near as much.
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End the multi-series madness
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