Will NASCAR leave teams and sponsors out in the cold?

By Mike Harper

Believe it or not it’s past that time of the year. That time of the year when the Chase begins to really heat up, but also the time of the year when team owners begin to focus more on their business plans for next season.

Normally in business organizations are thinking about next year’s plans many months before the end of the year. Five-year plans and/or long-term business plans are also executed in an effort to achieve specific company goals. In NASCAR, teams are able to put in place these short and long-term goals, however with rule changes and new NASCAR initiatives typically being announced towards the end of the season, I’m sure teams and sponsors find themselves left out in the cold.

Here is an example. Fan or not of Robby Gordon, NASCAR left him out in the cold with a short-notice rule change. In October 2004, Gordon announced he and Richard Childress were parting ways. Gordon decided to run his own team for the 2005 season. He decided to take the ownership route based on his knowledge of the NASCAR rules at that time. One month later NASCAR changed the qualifying rules setting in motion the current qualifying structure.

With hard work and continued support of their sponsors, Robby Gordon and team put themselves in a position where they are guaranteed a spot to race. But with rumors of NASCAR changing the qualifying structure again, Gordon could find himself once again out in the cold even though they are currently meeting NASCAR’s expectations.

I’ve often said that I’m not one for guarantees in racing. I feel you’ve got to earn a win and a spot to race. One exception I have is the past champion provisional. In my opinion it’s not a free pass into a race because that champion earned it with his title as a reward for winning/earning the big prize. But rumors have NASCAR discontinuing the past champion provisional even though teams, owners and drivers use this rule in their business plans. Plainly, Michael Waltrip Racing will use this rule to help their program next season with Dale Jarrett. However, if NASCAR changes this rule in November as they did the qualifying rule in 2004, Jarrett and Michael Waltrip Racing will be left out in the cold just like Robby Gordon was. A business decision made by Waltrip and UPS scrapped because of a late season, short-notice rule change with little to no implementation time.

I’m not saying rules shouldn’t change, however I would prefer more time to implement the rules. NASCAR should give owners enough time to plan for the next season. Waiting until November to announce a rule change that would ultimately turn a team’s business plan upside down is unfair and not keeping the playing field level.

NASCAR boss Brian France has made it clear that changes to the Chase format are coming. France said, "I have always said the Chase needed a few years under its belt to see how it evolves, how it changes in strategy. Now it’s in its third year, it is the ideal time for us make adjustments."

I think November is a great time to announce Chase format changes for the next season, however November is a horrible time to announce qualifying rule changes for next season. Sadly, five or more teams could be on the outside looking in if NASCAR makes another change and those teams will be punished for simply following this season’s rules and ongoing expectations.

I hope NASCAR doesn’t shut the door on the teams that have invested many years in helping build the sport into what it is today. However, I love competition and in my opinion some teams that we currently see in the highest level of NASCAR will be history after this season. They won’t cut it. That’s unless NASCAR works hand-in-hand with these owners and teams to move them to a series where they can compete. Which means NASCAR will need to restructure the Busch Series and that my friends is a different topic for a different day.