This also will largely negate
the interloping of Cup stars into the Sportsman, er, Busch, er whatever-it-will-be-named-next series. Hurrah will say the
nay-sayers, except… The Busch Series will have trouble getting a good car count, as the Cup Teams have put more than
a few Busch regulars out of business.
Before this weekend, having
Cup Teams in Busch was good business for everyone except the very teams that made up the Busch Series. Cup Teams and Cup drivers
effectively got more practice, and Busch races drew a bigger crowd to see the Cup drivers, but if all of that largely goes
away after the advent of the Car of Tomorrow, what next?
Meanwhile the Busch cars themselves
are kind of boring. For you newer fans, NASCAR’s second tier series used to be called the “Sportsman” division,
and unlike what was then called the Grand National Division, it was pretty much a run-what-ya-brung deal. A 1961 Pontiac “bubbletop”
coupe with a later model 427 cubic inch Chevrolet motor racing against a 1953 Studebaker with a Chrysler Hemi was not uncommon.
And these were not the fifties; these were real tube chassis race cars in the sixties.
This era was followed by the
V6’s in mid sized cars, which sounded weak and had a problem with their oil pans not being structural enough to hold
the engines internals when they frequently detonated.
Those were replaced by the
current car, which has an incrementally shorter wheelbase that a Cup car but which looks identical to a Cup car. What? That’s
right race fans, three series, two of which look alike, at the top levels of our sport. Two of the factories (think $$, Brian
France) have chosen to market the Impala and Avenger as their COT models. This is not an accident. They are effectively getting
double the marketing bang for their buck.
Finally, and most disturbingly,
what seems to be the plan for the retired Car-of-Yesterday Cup cars is that they will be sold to the Busch Teams.
Let’s, recap, shall we?
The Cup Teams have monopolized the Busch Series, then left it a shell of what it was before they arrived, and now they are
selling them their used and more dangerous cars, all with NASCAR’s blessing. This cannot be the right thing to do.
But wait—there is an
excellent way out. Come up with a New Busch Car as well! The Ford Mustang is a beautiful car, and so will be the Dodge Challenger
and Chevrolet Camaro. In the sixties, these cars were known as “Sporty” cars, because they were almost a sports
car, yet they had 4 seats. NASCAR could call it the “Sporty Car of Tomorrow” or SCOT! Toyota
no doubt will bring a Supra to the party.
2006 StockCar Review.
