Testing Begins Amid Multitude Of Questions

[DebWilliams-GFN]

By Deb Williams

On the calendar, 2008 is barely a week old, but that hasn't kept NASCAR's Sprint Cup teams from returning to the race track.

Testing began Monday at Daytona International Speedway for a portion of the Cup competitors with the rest of the field slated to head to The Beach Jan. 14. And before NASCAR's top three divisions return to Daytona for Speedweeks, the Nationwide and Craftsman Truck series also will have spent time at the 2.5-mile track.

However, whether anyone can dethrone Hendrick Motorsports, which has claimed seven Cup championships in the last 13 years, is only the tip of the garage's complexities.

First, will the full-time use of the car NASCAR created – a spec car, if you will – that violates the very premise on which the late Bill France Sr. created the Strictly Stock division in 1949, adversely affect attendance? France believed fans wanted to watch cars race that resembled those purchased on the showroom floor. Thus, the most popular form of stock car racing was born. Name-wise, it became known as Grand National, later Winston Cup, then NEXTEL Cup and this year, Sprint Cup.

Yes, the Car of Tomorrow, as it was known during its development, does provide a safer environment for the driver, and that's good. However, the same features could have been incorporated into a car that looks more like the street model whose name it bears. Will grassroots race fans accept cars that look identical except for the nameplate on the front? Will those fans view NASCAR's top series as an IROC circuit?

This, in turn, leads to another question. How will TV ratings fare in 2008? For the majority of the 2007 season, the sport's TV ratings were down. Will the use of the winged cars with their front splitters create renewed interest in the sport or have the reverse effect?

NASCAR has yet to provide the teams with a 2008 rule book. The cars are being constructed via technical bulletins NASCAR sends the teams. Will these “spec” cars eventually lead to the elimination of jobs at the race teams? After all, the car is more suited for engineers than skilled fabricators, who learned the tricks of massaging a car through many years of dedication to their craft. Also, will NASCAR eventually oversee the car's construction at a single location and then each team acquire its fleet as needed?

Will the influx of open-wheel drivers provide a new fan base to replace those who have walked away from the sport? How will the sport's international flavor affect fans' perception and attitude towards the sport?

How will Joe Gibbs Racing adapt to Toyota?

How will Dale Earnhardt Jr. perform in his inaugural season with Hendrick Motorsports?

How will the resolution of Kentucky Speedway's lawsuit against NASCAR affect the sport's landscape?

On another front, for the second time in five years, NASCAR's premier series has changed its name. After three decades as the Winston Cup Series, it became NEXTEL Cup in 2004. This year it becomes Sprint Cup. Will newcomers get it confused with Sprint Car racing?

To possibly add to the confusion is the name change for the Busch Series after 26 years with that identity. This year, that circuit becomes the Nationwide Series, as it is now sponsored by Nationwide Insurance. However, to someone not familiar with the sport, it appears the Nationwide Series carries more prestige than the Sprint Cup simply because the word “nationwide” construes national, while Webster's defines the word “sprint” as “a short race run at top speed.” Will NASCAR experience a branding problem with its top two series?

What other issues do you envision?

These questions, as well as others that will arise, leave little doubt that 2008 will indeed be an interesting season.

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