NASCAR'S future is in the hands of the Big Four owners

Out of business: The bad economy and the Big Four's dominance forced owner Chip Ganassi (left) to pull the plug on Dario Franchitti's No. 40 Dodge. Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images Tom Bowles's Mailbag Submit a comment or question for Tom. Name: Email: Hometown: Question: SEND Related Links Uncertain future looms for Ganassi and Franchitti Franchitti's team shut down due to lack of funds

During a time of economic uncertainty, all eyes are on NASCAR and whether the sport remains financially viable in the face of increasing costs. But the fix needed to keep this sport afloat is simpler than you might think.

Cementing NASCAR's financial and competitive future comes down to the moves of just four men, and their names might surprise you: Rick Hendrick, Jack Roush, Richard Childress, and Joe Gibbs.

These are the owners of the teams that have been dominating the Cup Series for the past several years -- to the point where people around the garage have begun referring to them as the "Big Four." Since Alan Kulwicki won the title with his self-owned team in 1992, every Cup championship trophy but one has been won by the Big Four and a list of drivers that has included such future Hall Of Famers as Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth, Tony Stewart.and the late Dale Earnhardt.

At the moment, the Big Four owns 12 of the Top 13 spots in the current Sprint Cup standings -- Kasey Kahne in 10th is the lone exception -- and have won 12 of 17 races so far this season.

In one sense, the long-term success of these programs should be commended. These teams helped finish off NASCAR's transition from regional curiosity into the national spotlight as the second-most popular sport in America. With innovative ideas like engineering-based setups, multi-car teams and a focus on aerodynamics, they've raised the competitive standards of the sport to a whole new level.

But the Big Four's success has come with a long-term cost.

To the victors go the spoils; and as the sport has evolved over the course of this decade, leaving success in the hands of a select group has ratcheted up the price tag for everyone else who wants to compete at the Big Four's level. Owning 14 Cup cars between them (that number will rise to 15 in 2009, when RCR adds a fourth to its stable), these four teams eat up sponsorship money like it's an all-you-can-eat buffet.

Just this season, Childress has announced two multi-million dollar deals with Caterpillar and General Mills while Roush has AFLAC ponying up $26 million a year to sponsor Carl Edwards' No. 99 beginning next season. Our economy might be hurting, but you wouldn't know it while visiting these teams' state-of-the-art shops that are equipped with seven-figure seven-post shaker rigs and enough computer gadgets to make any techno geek drool.

But for every big check cashed by the Big Four, there's a bounced check and a closed up race team somewhere else. General Mills and Caterpillar were primary sponsors of existing teams -- Bill Davis Racing and Petty Enterprises, respectively -- and neither have found a replacement for 2009. Indeed, the economic conditions for everyone else resemble the last day of a Going Out Of Business Sale. There isn't much left to choose from, and the clock is ticking on what little is left on the shelf.

This dire situation has led to victims like car owner Chip Ganassi, the IRL success story who had to close down one of his three Cup teams this week due to a lack of sponsorship for reigning IRL champ Dario Franchitti. While Franchitti's transition to stock cars was rough -- he was 41st in the season standings and without a Top 15 finish -- it shouldn't be so rough that a driver of his caliber can not find the sponsorship he needs to have a chance at success. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Insiders around the garage estimate that anywhere from four to six cars could be toast by the start of 2009.

But it's not just the bad economy that hurts those teams; it's the Big Four itself.

The Car of Tomorrow -- designed in part to increase parity -- has instead widened the gap as the Big Four have the engineering resources and test teams that find the ins and outs of it faster than everyone else. Others have tried to catch up -- Penske Racing is among those that have begun high-profile test teams this year -- but the damage has already been done.

Last season, the Big Four captured 73% of all Top 5 finishes through 17 races. This year, that number has risen to 76%, and it would be even higher if it wasn't for that wacky fuel mileage finish this past Sunday at New Hampshire.

NASCAR's made some strict rules limiting the adjustments you can make on the car, but the Big Four's response is to hire teams of engineers to find the microscopic tweak needed to make for their cars to go just that much faster. It's one thing when the driver makes the difference, but another when technology and money become the keys behind your success.

Unfortunately, those dominating stats have led to a simple game of cause-and-effect for everyone else. The other teams don't run up front, and so their sponsor doesn't get the marketing return on its investment. That sponsor leaves, the old team can't find a replacement, and eventually, they shut down.

What makes matters worse is that the sponsor that jumps ship usually ends up with the Big Four in some way, shape, or form, realizing that even as an associate sponsor with just a small placement on the car, they'll get more bang for their buck out of the Big Four instead of running 30th every week.

If this were a stick and ball sport, it would be easy for a commissioner to get involved, but with the way NASCAR is run, it's near impossible for CEO Brian France to make rules to curb the spending. Each team is looked at as a private contractor and there are no "franchise fees" or forced cooperation amongst car owners. Anybody with a race car that meets specifications can come in and compete. It used to be what made NASCAR so great, but now it's making it powerless in the face of capitalism-turned-destruction.

In the midst of all these ominous warning signs, there's still a chance for all this inequity to stop. The four car owners in question would need to come together and take a stand by pledging to pool resources and cut down costs in the name of the sport's long-term health. It's a daunting task, one that goes against the very mentality of a racer's desire to run their competition into the ground.

Right now, there's no sign of that compromise on the horizon. Instead, each man is busy putting the health of the sport behind his own healthy desire to win at all costs.

Let's hope that desire doesn't cost us the sport the Big Four are trying to dominate.