July 28, 2007
By Andrew Brookman

Andrew Brookman

With so much business in the news, it’s become difficult to merely write something without coming back to a rant. Change is occurring so fast these days, so obviously and impersonal. No matter what else I may write, this week has written itself in the past, the present and certainly the future. Whether I thought about top dollar teams or struggling single car greats, the topic of this commentary may seem more like a rant; but with all the memories and all the heart, I can only offer what I seem to think.

Whether it is the top 35 rule, past champion provisional, the cost of technology or the ability to draw big money sponsors; it’s all a vicious cycle. With top dollar sponsors and pretty faces showing up, some of it has begun to feel a bit pre-packaged and ready to sell. Like 500 horse power SUV’s and 36 inch flat panel televisions, everything is being pushed to the max - full tilt. And while I can appreciate a 36 inch flat panel or American Muscle under my foot, sometimes I can appreciate the underdog even more.

Daily news keeps telling me that no longer does experience cash the check a team’s ability writes, and walking the walk only takes place on a path paid for by the highest bidder. It’s a day when boys with dreams bring a Fathers checkbook, a decal and a sponsorship that will go with them anywhere. It’s a day when machines sit 34th in owner points and great champions find themselves 40th and 43rd in driver standings. A day when you wish for a perfect world - and in it qualifying is based on qualified.

As the course continues, legacy drivers this sport grew with will find there way to the back like others. With luck we may have a few Wallace’s, a Jarrett and a Martin to remind us of the early 21st century in NASCAR’s premier series. The grassroots of NASCAR are growing right out of the yard and into the sidewalks of corporate America. It may be an opinion some won’t like, but the truth is spoken daily.

While in the past simply being part of American racing heritage was enough for some; demographics, trends and business end scenarios now project the future years in advance. While The Daytona 500 is the most prestigious race in America, it too now falls second to the Fortune 500. “Nothing personal, it’s just business.”

Though we may find ourselves less fond of these new faces today, in years to come we may look to them to solidify our roots. It’s times like these we must remember NASCAR is a business, and a very large business at that. A new target market has approved changes, and “war wagon” crew chiefs slide further down the ladder from “war room” market strategists. The drama no longer for “the young and the race-less’, but for those that know where he fits and when.

It might be that I’ve heard enough about business this week, or big money racing; and maybe I’ll get a few replies telling me I don’t know what’s good for the sport too. In fact I’m sure I will. Still the truth is, sometimes you can only make sense out of the things that actually make sense, and the others you just have to hope for the best.

Change is good, but it doesn’t mean it will always feel good. It doesn’t mean I too won’t change with it, or my perception of each race to come. Chances are the faces we love so much returning to the track will set aside all this news, and God Bless ‘em. I’ve waited for those four famous words in racing impatiently so many times, but not quite so much like this.

Come on Indy!

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.