Farewell To Winston
The biggest story of 2003 and the one that has the largest potential impact on 2004 is the departure of Winston as the title sponsor of the premier division in NASCAR. The Winston brand has been synonymous with NASCAR for over 30 years and it will take some time before NASCAR NEXTEL Cup series sounds quite right.
What can it mean for the future? One thing is certain, expect a marketing blitz like never before as NASCAR can now market their top series to a younger audience. This has already started with Fox's new television commercial that shows nothing but a giant wreck with Kevin Harvick in the middle of it calmly talking about baseball. This ad is clearly aimed at attracting new, younger fans into the sport.
The Death Of Gentlemen
Another big story from 2003 with long lasting effects for 2004 and beyond is the rule change to stop racing back to the yellow. For many years NASCAR drivers were not considered to be under caution until they crossed the start/finish line. Too many drivers were taking advantage of that rule and sacrificing safety so NASCAR banned the practice.
More than changing the on-track product though what really happened here was that this was one more loss of innocence for a sport that has grown up very quickly. The gentlemen's agreement reflected the southern roots of NASCAR but as it exploded into a big money, mainstream sport NASCAR has had to legislate rules where common sense used to prevail. This more strict, corporate, interpretation of the rules is necessary but it really highlights the changes in NASCAR over the last few years.
Rumors Of A Change
Finally, one of the biggest stories of 2003 has been the persistent rumor that the points system is subject to change. NASCAR has apparently been working on a new system and has even hinted about a "playoff" style system that would reset the top ten for the last ten races and have them battle it out for the title. Nothing has been officially announced yet but this story dominated the second half of 2003 and would have huge repercussions through 2004 and into the future.
Personally I am against any changes to the current system. However I would admit that the change in title sponsor seems to indicate a clear break in time for the sport and that NEXTEL is the beginning of a new era. If NASCAR ever wants to make a change to the point structure now is the time.
There were other big stories from 2003. The Toyota announcement, Kurt Busch versus Jimmy Spencer, Matt Kenseth's big year, great battles in the truck and Busch series points and many more. Mostly those will be just footnotes in history compared to the long-lasting changes that we saw over the last year.
The start of a new year always brings some excitement and trepidation about what new and different things may come. As a result of 2003's biggest stories 2004 brings with it more uncertainty, excitement and promise of great things than any season before.
I hope you all have a happy and safe NASCAR New Year.
