July 5, 2006

By Rebecca Gladden

Rebecca Gladden

When Brian France took over the reins as CEO of NASCAR in September of 2003, he didn't wait long before implementing his vision for its future, as his father and grandfather before him had been doing since the sport's inception in the 1940s.

In 2004, many of France's concepts were actualized, though some had carried over from the closing months of his father's tenure. The season began with a new sponsor when Nextel replaced Winston, a brand which had been associated with the sport for the previous 33 years. In addition, a radical new points system debuted - the Chase for the Nextel Cup - in which the final ten races of the year would serve as a playoff-style showdown between the series top ten drivers.

New leadership also brought about changes to the rules, including the advent of the green-white-checkered rule to try to insure that races finish under green flag conditions, and a mandate that drivers not race back to the yellow - a move aimed at improving safety on the track when the field is under caution. Along with that came the free pass or "lucky dog" rule, which allowed the first car not on the lead lap when a caution came out to gain back a lap.

The race schedule was realigned in 2004, affecting some of the sport's venerable southern tracks like Darlington and Rockingham. It was also the first full season of NASCAR's "Drive for Diversity" program, which sought to attract more minority fans and participants to an activity that many still perceive as appealing primarily to the white middle class. In addition, the sanctioning body lifted their longstanding ban on hard liquor sponsorships in November of 2004.

The pace of change slowed very little in France's second full year as CEO. The shorter spoiler, softer tire, and new gear rules implemented in 2005 - intended to improve competition on the track - created new challenges for many crew chiefs and drivers. A new post-qualifying impound procedure also went into effect at 21 of 36 races, markedly altering the practice and qualifying schedules on those weekends.

Qualifying itself was also changed in 2005. The top 35 cars in owner points were guaranteed a starting spot in the field, regardless of their actual qualifying time, while those outside the top 35 competed on time for the next seven starting spots. The final spot was reserved for the past champion's provisional. There was further realignment of the 2005 Cup schedule as well.

2006 has been somewhat of a transitional year in NASCAR, bridging the changes that occurred in the first two years of France's tenure with the many dramatic revisions coming in 2007.

There were still a few significant modifications this year, however, including a scale-back of last year's impound program, which proved to be more hindrance than help. One of this season's biggest adjustments has been the new testing program, which limits teams to six tests each at six specific tracks - Charlotte, Daytona, Las Vegas, Richmond, Homestead, and Indianapolis. Testing is still allowed at tracks where the Cup series isn't racing.

Another rule implemented at the start of 2006 was the team cap rule, which prohibits owners from having more than four cars in their stable. However, teams like Roush Racing that already had more than four cars have been granted additional time to bring their teams into compliance.

But without question, 2007 will bring about the most significant changes of all.

Here's a look at some of the major developments forecast for next season:

• The Chase: Brian France announced last week that the Chase format will undergo some revisions in 2007. "What I have always said about the Chase was we needed a few years under our belt to see how it evolves, how it changes in strategy, see how the actual formula we have really works," said France last week. "Now in our third year, it's the ideal time for us to make adjustments." While he declined to give specifics, possible areas of change include the number of drivers in the Chase, the 400-point rule, the mix of tracks in the final ten races, the amount of points awarded for winning a race, and the inclusion of a wildcard spot.

• Toyota in the Cup Series: Many fans still bristle at the idea, but Toyota Camrys will be running side by side with Fords, Chevys and Dodges in the Cup series in 2007. Toyotas have been raced in the Craftsman Truck Series for the past few seasons. On the Cup side, Michael Waltrip, Dale Jarrett and Brian Vickers are among the well-known drivers who have already made the move to Toyota for 2007.

• The Car of Tomorrow: Its name evokes a Jetson-like vehicle of the future, but in NASCAR, the future is here. After years of research and development, the new vehicle - which sports a rear wing in place of a spoiler - was designed with three goals in mind: "We're going to get the safety benefits that are built into the new Car of Tomorrow," said France. "We're going to get the cost situation; that's going to be helpful to us, we really believe that. And finally, we're going to get the competition benefit - because we're seeing that aero dependency, which is a big issue when the teams today try to pass." The COT is scheduled to appear in 16 races next season, debuting at Bristol in the spring, and will be phased in over the next two seasons until it is running full-time by 2009.

• New TV Package: 2006 is the last year that FOX and NBC will be splitting race coverage. Under the terms of a new eight-year contract with NASCAR starting in 2007, ABC will replace NBC as one member of a new consortium of networks televising NASCAR programs, which also includes ESPN, ESPN2, FOX, TNT and SPEED. FOX will carry the Daytona 500 every year for the next eight and will broadcast the 12 Cup races following the 500. Races 14 through 19 will be on TNT, and the final 17 races of the year will be on either ABC or ESPN. ABC will carry all 10 races in the Chase for the Championship in 2007.

• Series Sponsorship: Though Nextel has only sponsored the Cup series since 2004, another name change is in the works, thanks to a merger between Sprint and Nextel that was finalized in 2005. The series title will likely be changed to the Sprint Cup Series before the start of the 2007 season.

• Schedule Changes: At press time, no major shakeups are predicted, but there will be some minor variations in race dates, particularly over the summer months.

• Team and driver changes: Silly season is always part of the fun in NASCAR, though it seems to start a little earlier every year. With Toyota's entry into Cup in 2007, there will be even more maneuvering than usual. As mentioned above, Waltrip, Jarrett and Vickers have already made the move to Toyota, and Bill Elliott's name has been mentioned as a possible Camry driver. Casey Mears will take over Vickers' ride at Hendrick Motor Sports and Todd Kleuver will likely assume Mark Martin's Roush car when Martin retires at the end of this year. Other possible changes include DEI fielding a fourth car in 2007, Ward Burton getting a full-time Cup ride, and Boris Said running full-time in the series as well. Keep an eye out for even more silly season news in the next few weeks.

So hang on, NASCAR fans. The pace of change is accelerating even faster than before - and clearly, there is no turning back now.

The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN. Although we may not always agree with what is said, we do feel it's our duty to give a voice to those who have something relevant to say about the sport of auto racing.