Come clean Tide! Hot topics of the day

By Mike Harper

A rumor is heating up about Tide Racing. No, the rumor isn’t about a new promotion or driver change. There’s no new paint scheme or even an announcement to move to another team. The rumor has the Tide sponsorship bowing out and leaving NASCAR at the end of this season.

If the rumor is true, the last Tide event will be a sad day in NASCAR. Tide has a very rich history in the sport and whether they’re leaving due to financial reasons, a new marketing plan or the lack of recent success in NASCAR, the loss of the Tide sponsorship is further proof that NASCAR is ever changing. Changing for the good and in some cases for the bad.

In March of this year I wrote a column about Tide and said, "It's time for a new chapter in Tide Racing's history book." But I never imagined Tide’s new chapter would be "Exiting NASCAR." At the time I thought they would be a great fit for Yates, Roush or Richard Childress.

Rumors aside, the signs lead me to believe Tide will not return to the No. 32 next season. Cal Wells, owner of PPI Motorsports said in a recent interview about the Tide sponsorship, "I'm not working as though they're coming back." Also when you visit the Tide Racing web site, it hasn’t been updated in some time. It shows only 10 starts on the season and the picture of the driver on the main page is Bobby Hamilton Jr., not current driver Travis Kvapil.

That tells me something is about to change.

COT – Let’s get real!

In my upcoming column in SpeedWorld Magazine, I "Spin-Out" the "Car of Tomorrow." I submitted my column many weeks ago, however in recent days Scott Riggs, Greg Biffle and Tony Stewart just to name a few, have come out and ripped the COT. In my opinion, they have good reason.

I agree with NASCAR on Fox’s Larry McReynolds when he said in regards to the COT, "Maybe we just needed a little bandage or a couple of stitches. We don't need major surgery because when you do surgery on someone that doesn't really need it, it can cause more problems than they started with."

My question is – why would NASCAR, at a time when it has seen tremendous growth in popularity go and change something that isn’t broke? I betcha the IRL and others are licking their chops, hoping NASCAR will fail. Sadly when you mess with something that’s not broke, just like Larry Mac said, "it can cause more problems that they started with."

It fell under the radar screen!

=>  Was it just me or did Rusty Wallace fire Jamie McMurray?

=> Thanks to Kevin Harvick, looks like Scott Wimmer is heading to RCR. What no memo Richard?

=>  Did you hear the amazing news? Frank Kimmel won his eighth ARCA championship two weeks ago. Incredible accomplishment, but I can’t wait for the day when someone will dedicate some time to ARCA and knock him off the top spot. Maybe next season!

=>  Just so you know, Mark Martin collectibles have decreased in value.

=>  Jeremy Mayfield will be racing in the Craftsman Truck Series this weekend. The last time he raced in the trucks, he finished one spot better than Erin Crocker – and Ray was at the track.

=>  Johnny Benson has a shot at the truck championship.

=>  This may come as a shocker, but even the best of the best teams can have problems with sponsorship retention. Poor Richard Childress Racing! RCR has been at the top of their game this season, but yet sponsors are running away from RCR. Rumors have Cingular gone at the end of the season and GM Goodwrench will not be the primary sponsor on the No. 29 next season. The U.S. Coast Guard is leaving RCR’s Busch Series team after one of the most successful seasons in Busch Series history including a championship and AC Delco is leaving RCR’s No. 2 Busch Series car. I’m not sure what more an owner in NASCAR can do to provide the highest level of exposure as RCR has done for their sponsors this season. Maybe they know something that we don’t.

=>  Television ratings were down again for NBC at Martinsville. Houston we have a problem!

=>  Am I the only one who thinks Kenny Wallace jumping full-time back into Nextel Cup next season with the No. 78 team is a bad idea?

=> Well, needless to say all the leaves are brown and the snow will soon fall.