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Buschwhacking
Monday, August 28, 2006
By Heather Pohlabel
"Bushwhackers", (full time Nextel Cup drivers also driving a full race load in the Busch series), as they have been dubbed, are absolutely dominating the Busch series races, as if you haven't noticed. Kevin Harvick, the series leader and full time Nextel Cup racer, dominates the points with more than a five hundred point lead over the second place points holder, Carl Edwards, also a full time Nextel Cup driver.
Where in the points do we find non Nextel Cup drivers? Where are the regular Busch series racers? With only a few exceptions, the Nextel Cup drivers are, unfortunately, also the full time Busch series racers. The top eight racers in points in the Busch series are full time Nextel Cup racers: Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin (last year a Busch series driver who worked his way to Nextel Cup this year), Clint Bowyer (also a rookie who graduated from Busch to Nextel cup this past season), J. J. Yeley, Paul Menard (same as Hamlin and Bowyer), Kyle Busch, and Greg Biffle (former Busch champion in 2002). The last two racers in Busch series points, Johnny Sauter and Kenny Wallace run only limited Nextel Cup races. As a matter of fact, Sauter has only run one Nextel Cup race this season. Wallace runs a mixed schedule.
What other sport offers its competitors two full time competitive careers? None that I can name. Why should NASCAR be so different? Isn't there enough room in this sport for plenty of men? Wasn't the Busch series meant to be the minor league of stock car racing? Indeed, it was, but with the recent surge of popularity in stock car racing, NASCAR has promoted and supported running not only full time Nextel racers in the Busch series races, but former champions as well.
While I agree it is good for sales, crowds, and TV time to have some well-known and respected drivers in each race, a limited number of big name racers from Nextel Cup is all that is really necessary to complete this task. NASCAR should limit the number of times a full time Nextel Cup driver can drive in Busch series race and the number of drivers from Nextel in each race. This allows full functionality of drawing in the larger crowds and providing better entertainment, and it also gives the Busch series back what it is was originally intended for but is now lacking - a place for new drivers to start and excel.
Kevin Harvick is on fire this year and is trying to take both the Busch series title and the Nextel Cup title, where he is currently third in points behind Jimmie Johnson (who has only run one Busch series race this year) and Matt Kenseth (who also regularly runs Busch races). Isn't it enough that in 2001 Harvick won the Busch series championship and earned Rookie of the Year in the Nextel Cup? Apparently not! Now he's trying to sweep again, only now it's not just for props. It's for big cash and prestige. Harvick would be the first driver to win both series championships in the same year.
It doesn't look like NASCAR is going to change its policies when it comes to the Buschwhackers or restrict their driving time, even though Dale Earnhardt Jr., (who was the champion of the Busch series in 1998 and 1999) thinks that regulations need to be made. Jr. still drives Busch series and Nextel Cup races regularly, but recognizes the need for change.
Spotlighting a couple of different drivers in each Busch series race would still bring in the crowds and allow the less practiced or notable racers a chance to work their way up to the big leagues, the way it was intended. Can you imagine a Busch series race featuring only Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon with the regular Busch series drivers? How would attendance be at that event? Unprecedented, that's how.
NASCAR - get creative and open the doors for more drivers to make a name for themselves. With all the changes in cup drivers in the last few years, Nextel Cup teams are having a hard time finding drivers for their cars. The Busch series is a platform for aspiring Nextel Cup drivers, not a practice ring for polished professionals.
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