The influx of Cup drivers invading the Busch series when the two series are racing on the same weekend at the same track has steadily been on the rise in recent years. As Casey Mears said in a post-race interview tonight, "I'm not here to race for points I'm here for the win." What does this mean to the Busch drivers racing for the points? Get better equipment, or try to buy a Cup driver's ride after he qualifies, alla Michael Waltrip (see previous post and comments), which to be quite frank is not going to happen. But wait, if the Busch series is there for the development of younger drivers and new teams who can't really afford to race at the Cup level then how are they going to buy better equipment? They're not, the money is simply not there.
The invasion of the cup drivers to earn extra sponsorship dollars to do double duty weekends has hurt this series. Even the Cup drivers with large backing from sponsors, because they are Cup drivers, and from deep pocketed teams (i.e. RCR), who are racing in the series full time have hurt the series as well. Just look at the point standings right now, Kevin Harvic has over 600 points on 10th place and over 400 points on 3rd. If NASCAR would institute a "Race for The Chase" format there would only be 3 drivers in the chase based on points. In fact, the first full time Busch driver who is not racing full time in Cup is Menard and he is in 8th place. Greg Biffle who is not racing full time in Busch is ahead of Menard in 6th place, even though he has 2 less races under his belt. This series has turned into a joke. But what can be done?
Limit the number of Cup drivers allowed to drive in the series. This could be done several ways; 1) only allow 5 spots for Cup drivers in each race that shares the same track on the same weekends as Cup; 2) Limit the number of Cup drivers who are driving full time in both series to three; 3) Significantly increase the entrance fee of fulltime Cup drivers entering a Busch race. Or one could alter the points system to not include Cup drivers. For example, no points would be awarded to Cup drivers no matter where they finish (i.e. if a cup driver finishes 3rd and a Busch driver finishes 4th the Busch driver would get the 3rd place points and all other Busch drivers move up one position and so on). In addition to no points awarded one could take away their winnings, since most of the Cup drivers are entering the Busch race for sponsorship dollars have their winnings divided among the teams who are only racing in the Busch series. The only things the Cup drivers get is the trophy, bragging rights, and their sponsorship dollars (which is considerably more than the winners purse).
These are just a few suggestions off the top of my head to offer a legimate solution to the growing problem of Busch Whackers. I'm sure there are a lot of other suggestions out there, any one else have some ideas? I'd love to hear them!
The invasion of the cup drivers to earn extra sponsorship dollars to do double duty weekends has hurt this series. Even the Cup drivers with large backing from sponsors, because they are Cup drivers, and from deep pocketed teams (i.e. RCR), who are racing in the series full time have hurt the series as well. Just look at the point standings right now, Kevin Harvic has over 600 points on 10th place and over 400 points on 3rd. If NASCAR would institute a "Race for The Chase" format there would only be 3 drivers in the chase based on points. In fact, the first full time Busch driver who is not racing full time in Cup is Menard and he is in 8th place. Greg Biffle who is not racing full time in Busch is ahead of Menard in 6th place, even though he has 2 less races under his belt. This series has turned into a joke. But what can be done?
Limit the number of Cup drivers allowed to drive in the series. This could be done several ways; 1) only allow 5 spots for Cup drivers in each race that shares the same track on the same weekends as Cup; 2) Limit the number of Cup drivers who are driving full time in both series to three; 3) Significantly increase the entrance fee of fulltime Cup drivers entering a Busch race. Or one could alter the points system to not include Cup drivers. For example, no points would be awarded to Cup drivers no matter where they finish (i.e. if a cup driver finishes 3rd and a Busch driver finishes 4th the Busch driver would get the 3rd place points and all other Busch drivers move up one position and so on). In addition to no points awarded one could take away their winnings, since most of the Cup drivers are entering the Busch race for sponsorship dollars have their winnings divided among the teams who are only racing in the Busch series. The only things the Cup drivers get is the trophy, bragging rights, and their sponsorship dollars (which is considerably more than the winners purse).
These are just a few suggestions off the top of my head to offer a legimate solution to the growing problem of Busch Whackers. I'm sure there are a lot of other suggestions out there, any one else have some ideas? I'd love to hear them!