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With Silly Season
dominoes beginning their
fall last weekend in
Daytona, 2009 is looking
bleak. 45 cars took
time in an attempt to
make the Coke Zero 400.
That number is down from
53 for the 2007 Pepsi
400; old name, old car.
Chip Ganassi’s no. 40
team is out of business,
and with it are over 60
full time employees.
Yates Racing and the
Wood Brothers seem to be
approaching the end,
which could come before
the year is out.
The not so distant
future could see less
than 43 cars start a Cup
race for the first time
since NASCAR’s boom
began. When looking at
the situation from an
economic standpoint,
perhaps it was not the
best idea for NASCAR to
force teams into a new
car at the pace they
did.
Evernham, Roush and
Petty are just a few of
the big names needing
extra business partners
to make it in the stock
car racing world.
Rising costs and scarce
sponsorship
opportunities have
already forced many
small teams to cease
operations.
Owners like Bobby Ginn
found out how expensive
Cup racing was through
an experience of his
own. Ginn is now fully
out of NASCAR after his
swift but determined
entry into Cup racing.
Other former Cup teams,
like the 04 of Eric
McClure, headed to the
Nationwide Series with
the old bodied cars.
The one off efforts of
names like Kevin Lepage,
Larry Foyt and Chad
Chaffin are becoming
increasingly rare.
Darwinism at its finest
can be viewed every
weekend in the Sprint
Cup Series. The strong
are surviving, but with
less competition, the
grand advertising
pedestal the Cup cars
are placed on looks less
lucrative to sponsors.
Will Budweiser, the Home
Depot and The National
Guard care if their
driver is doing well if
he’s running against
nobody? Doubt it.
This, all combined with
the rumors of Dale
Earnhardt Inc. being for
sale, should be
downright scary for the
big wigs of NASCAR. The
solution? Ride it out.
Don’t change a thing.
Instead of messing with
the rules or
implementing new ideas
into the Car of
Tomorrow, let teams
catch up. That includes
recovering on the
financial side and
gaining from a
competition perspective.
Mark Martin finally
learned how to text
message, landing him a
full time ride at
Hendrick Motor Sports.
That’s yet another fully
funded car with a
veteran behind the
wheel. Casey Mears is
currently out of a ride
for 2009. Things are
not looking promising
for the one time winner
from Bakersfield,
California, but Mears
presents a good picture
for potential sponsors
and should have no
trouble landing in a
good place.
Tony Stewart is one to
watch in Silly Season.
Joey Logano would be a
great fit in the no. 20
car, giving Gibbs and
unprecedented lineup of
youth and energy.
Stewart could pour his
dedication into a needy
HAAS CNC Chevrolet
team. If the results
end up like Stewart’s
other projects (Eldora,
late model teams,
Indiana DQ Blizzard
promotions) NASCAR
should see a few more
competitive cars on the
entry list in 2009.
There are many possible
perspectives on NASCAR’s
potential future, but
similar to the
corresponding economy,
fans should wait and see
before claiming a stock
car recession. There
are many good things
going on in NASCAR, but
also quite a few bad
things that keep popping
up – money being one of
them.
All the things I could
do if I had a little
money. It’s a rich mans
world.
You can
contact Jonathan at
jlintner@gmail.com
The opinions expressed
on this site are not necessarily those of the publisher. All
comments other than website related problems need to be directed to
the author. Copyright 2000-2008 SpeedwayMedia.com.
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