A "Bush" Deal for the Busch Series
by M.L. Morgan
We don't cover the Busch Grand National Series on a day-to-day basis but since it's an integral part of Winston Cup and Nascar we feel compelled to mention a situation which seems to be getting out of control.
Recently at Las Vegas, 15 Winston Cup regulars made the field for the BGN race, causing 16 BGN full-time drivers to go home early. Of course the BGN drivers are enraged . Do they have reason to be ?
This is a prickly situation depending on whom you ask. The race promoters can sell a lot more tickets if Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin and Jeff Burton are competing. That doesn't require a brain surgeon to come up with that fact. Just part of the dollars and cents which fuel Nascar racing, at all levels. But there is also the business side of the coin from the full-time BGN teams. These teams have big-dollar sponsors who get nothing for their investments when their teams get on the trailers Saturday morning.
Many of the Cup regulars own their own BGN teams so , on the surface, it doesn't seem outrageous for these drivers to drive their own cars occasionally. Of course it is no coincidence the Cup drivers continually walk away with most of the money. That doesn't require a brain surgeon, either - these guys are much better drivers and usually they have much better equipment. I'd be shocked if they DIDN'T dominate.
The most glaring inequity, in my opinion, is Nascar always implies BGN is a stand-alone, self-sustaining series. That means the series will prosper without the Cup drivers competing. I don't agree with this premise but then again I don't agree with a lot of things Nascar claims. I think they have an excuse to fit all occasions.
In Nascar, rule changes are a regular activity - sometimes occurring hourly, depending upon who is winning the races. As much as I hate these incessant changes I think it is time for Nascar to revisit their rules governing the participation of the Cup drivers in the BGN races. The only rule I'm aware of says Cup drivers can't use provisionals to get into a BGN field. Big damn deal . These guys come to qualifying and blow the doors off the BGN teams. They don't need provisionals. That was a nice, safe rule for Nascar to use. We can't offend any of the 'big' boys and their big-buck sponsors.
I think it's time for some meaningful rule changes if Nascar truly wants the BGN series to survive. Start with allowing only 3 Cup drivers to qualify for any BGN race. Gotta start somewhere.
The BGN series always has a lot of exciting races, and for the most part, that's where the Cup stars have come from. As long as Nascar allows the big boys to go back there and kick ass, the BGN series will suffer. I already know that Mark Martin can whip Randy Lajoie. They can compete together on Sundays, but let's leave Saturdays to BGN.
Have comments or questions? E-mail: M.L. Morgan
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