Comments (0) | |

Wednesday, May. 28, 2008

Nationwide Series has lost its point

Next weekend, NASCAR'S three national series - the Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Craftsman Truck - will be racing at three different tracks around the country. But Kyle Busch - the leader in the Sprint Cup points standings - isn't letting the distance deter him from beating up on drivers in NASCAR's two lower series.

In one weekend, Busch plans to run the Cup race in Pocono, Pa., the Nationwide race in Nashville, Tenn., and the Truck race in Texas. It's a weekend that Busch referred to in an interview with media this past weekend as "fun."

While having a dominant car in not only the Cup but the two lower divisions might be fun for Busch, as he has won a combined nine races in NASCAR's three national series this year, it's not fun for full-time drivers in the series still trying to get noticed for an opportunity to race at the Cup level. When a driver like Busch, Carl Edwards or Clint Bowyer frequently race in and dominate the Nationwide Series, one intended to help younger drivers move to the Cup level, it is anything but fun. Instead, it's downright bullying.

Consider this: In the current Nationwide points standings, the top four drivers are Cup drivers with only one, David Reutimann, having less than two years of experience in NASCAR's top series. When the Nationwide Series was called the Busch Series, these drivers were called Buschwhackers.

With Busch now longer sponsoring the series, an appropriate nickname would be steamrollers, since many races in the Nationwide Series consist of drivers who used the second-tier series to help their career, swooping back down and steamrolling competition that they have no reason to race against to begin with.

When a Cup driver dominates to win a Nationwide race, it should never be referred to as impressive. A seasoned driver whipping weaker competition is as impressive as a steamroller running over a bed of flowers.

For drivers like David Ragan or Reutimann, there is a legitimate reason to be racing from time to time in a Nationwide car to get experience. But when the likes of Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle or Busch are contending for championships on the Cup level, they have no reason to be racing in a lower series on their day off.

When seasoned Cup drivers participate in a Nationwide race and sometimes cause accidents that cost drivers trying to make a name for themselves, it is no different than Chipper Jones playing for one of the Braves' minor league teams on his day off.

NASCAR has, in being concerned more about revenue than the excitement of up-and-coming drivers, allowed the Nationwide Series to veer way off course. It's a series that has become highly irrelevant. With most the top drivers and teams also being from the Cup side, why watch when you can see the exact same thing on the Cup level with a lot more at stake?

The Nationwide Series has lost both its purpose and identity. If it continues its current course, NASCAR might be better served to just allow Cup teams a three-hour practice session on Saturday afternoon, since that's what the Nationwide Series has evolved into.

Brad Harrison can be reached at 744-4400 or bharrison@macon.com