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Competitive imbalance? Money is the root of some NASCAR evils
Updated: Thursday June 14, 2001 3:19 PM
So Mike Skinner might be out of a ride with Richard Childress ... this is a surprise? In four-plus years and 147 starts, Skinner has managed 10 top-5 finishes, none of them a win. True, Skinner did finish 10th and 12th in points in the last two years and he has done a top-shelf job slicing his DNFs -- from seven in 1997 to two last year -- but in the huge-money, high-pressure world of Richard Childress Racing in specific and NASCAR in particular, that just isn't going to get it done. Like it or not, NASCAR has become yet another playground for the rich and the connected, and the rich demand results ... and the connected keep finding work. But, while a fortunate few among Winston Cup drivers will always land on their feet, gone are the days where a driver could have the benefit of 462 races to hone his craft before finally winning a race. In this day and age, it really is win or go find another team, so small wonder that Skinner will probably be looking for work this December. But if NASCAR is seemingly heading the way of horse racing and yachting -- some tracks sell sushi, for Richard Petty's sake! -- there are still a few glimmers of hope: Hut Stricklin , driving for the persevering Junie Donlavey , finishing sixth at Michigan for one; the very existence of Dave Marcis for another. In reality, those two are probably examples of dumb luck more than they are any substantial proof that the founding spirit of NASCAR lives and breathes, albeit in much more limited scope. Still, if it's true, as a recent report suggests, that NASCAR will limit teams to the use of one engine per race weekend -- that is, for qualifying, practice and the race -- at a few races this year, with more to follow next, then maybe at least a measure of financial sanity and competitive balance that has seemingly gone the way of Dodge domination might yet be restored. Preventing the Hendrickses and Yateses and the Roushes of the world from spending whatever they need to spend to develop specialized qualifying-only engines might seem un-American, but so too is limiting opportunity simply because one can't afford the freight. Is this potential new rule punitive to those who have money? In a sense, yes, but no more punitive than the current rules are to those who don't have money. Admittedly, precisely because NASCAR has become a big-money sport, there are relatively few teams that will see instant benefits from such a rule change, but there are some: The Wood Brothers and Elliott Sadler and, yes, Donlavey and Stricklin, among others. But in addition to helping those few remaining teams that still operate on a dated business model, the prospective rule change could facilitate the growth and development of fledgling teams like Andy Petree Racing and PPI Motorsports. At the end of the day, whether or not you're among the NASCAR rich or the NASCAR poor, winning is still the only thing. But if the sport can promote competitive balance throughout and not just encourage it among a relative few at the top of the heap, it will be better for everybody -- for the fans, for the sport, even for Skinner. Stephen Thomas covers NASCAR for CNNSI.com. The opinions expressed here are solely those of the writer.
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