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Nationwide Series Updates

I do not think it is any surprise that the Nationwide Series has some sponsorship issues at the moment. They also seem to have an identity issue, and for the first time, I really think that the lack of a strong series identity is affecting the sponsors of the Nationwide Series. It is very clear that something needs to be done, but coming to a consensus of what that is will be quite a chore.

First of all, I would like to applaud the efforts of NASCAR officials in making the cars of this series and the Cup Series completely different. Instead of very similar cars with different engine packages, as we have had in the past, this season, we have very different cars with very different engines. Continuing along this line is the very first step in creating another exciting brand of racing.

Secondly, the soft economy is no doubt a factor in the lack of team sponsorship, especially among the top tier Nationwide teams. Along with that, NASCAR is going to have to do a better job in every series of not signing NASCAR sponsors that severely limit the companies that teams can seek sponsorship from. In this current state, does it make any sense for NASCAR to say goodbye to a wonderful sponsor like Geico? This company has built a tremendous marketing campaign around their team sponsorship of Mike Wallace - why get rid of something like that?

Another important factor is the ever-rising cost of racing on the Cup side. Nowadays, it is common practice to sign several companies up to insure a team's budget of $25-30 million per season. For example, Roush Fenway has no less then ten companies that will be featured on their five Cup teams. If all of the super teams do so, this severely limits the companies who are available to fund Nationwide teams.

The next step in creating series identity here is for NASCAR to not award points to Cup driver who compete in the series on a part-time basis. If they want to run for money, pride, and prestige, that is fine - but these part-time Cup drivers severely hurt the Nationwide standalone teams as they take spots, money and sponsors away from them. The best example of this is former Nationwide Series Champion Greg Biffle. Biffle has not run a full schedule in this series since 2004, and yet for the last three seasons, he has been in the top ten in points. That takes away a spot at their year-end ceremony that could go to a Nationwide regular and help create more stars in the series.

With that being said, if a Cup regular wants to run the entire schedule... (Read the full article here: Nationwide/Truck Updates)