Dateline: 06/20/01

I have felt for a long time that the days of the owner/driver were over, because of the amount of the investment needed to successfully compete full-time on the Winston Cup circuit. One of the last to succeed as an owner, as well as a driver, was Ricky Rudd and the economics finally forced him to sell his team to Robert Yates. At Pocono, he showed that he still has what it takes to bring home a winner, but he did not do it as the car owner.

NASCAR has become so "high dollar" that it is beginning to become an exclusive club, much like Formula One. Even extending down into the Busch series, the amount of investment is prohibiting competition. In Busch, it has even reached the point that there are just enough cars entered to fill the starting field in some races. The reason, in my opinion, is money. Sponsors are becoming harder to find, particularly for less successful teams, and without the sponsorships, owner/drivers can not compete. No one individual can afford to finance the operation of a competitive team on the money won on anything but the top ten positions.

For a while, I thought that fans were the only ones who recognized this trend, but it appears I was wrong. Recently NASCAR announced that they would be trying a new rule, one that should cut the cost of racing significantly. Their idea? Limit the teams to one engine for practice, qualifying and the race. No more specialized engines for qualifying, then changing to another engine for the race itself. It almost goes back to the "run what you brung" theory. If you bring an engine to the track, that's the one you race with. Sounds like a good move to me.

If teams can cut these type of expenses, then it might be possible that some independent team, lacking the resources of one of the major stables, would actually be able to be competitive during the course of a race. Who knows, it might even attract some talent that has avoided Winston Cup because of the expense.

I remember reading the story about how Ricky Rudd brought a family owned car to Charlotte and qualified it on the outside pole. He eventually finished fourth in the race and got the big break he needed. Those stories don't happen any more, and it's a shame. Maybe with this new rule, someone with a marginal financial situation, but great technical ability, might just put together a car that will last 500 miles and be competitive. And who knows, he might just drive it too. It would almost be like Tuesday nights at the old Ozark Speedway in Joplin. This rules change opens the door for some real "grass roots" racing, the way it used to be, and that can't do anything but help the sport.