June 15, 2006

By Rebecca Gladden

Rebecca Gladden

In case you missed it, NASCAR President Mike Helton was a guest on Sunday's edition of Speed TV's morning pre-race show, NASCAR Raceday.

Mr. Helton answered several questions from panelists John Roberts, Jimmy Spencer, and Kenny Wallace, but the most intriguing query came from Wallace, who races full-time in NASCAR's Busch series and part-time in the Nextel Cup series.

Wallace broached the hot topic of Cup drivers racing in the Busch series - a practice known as "Buschwhacking" - with Mr. Helton.

While Buschwhacking itself is not a new occurrence, there has been a marked increase in the number of Cup racers competing - and winning - in the Busch series over the past few years.

The impact of Buschwhackers has been more pronounced this season than ever before, leading to greater controversy and a call by some to change or suspend the practice all together.

Cup series regulars have won all 15 Busch races this year, with Kevin Harvick notching 3 Busch victories, Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin and Jeff Burton 2 a piece, and 1 each for Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle, Kasey Kahne, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, and Martin Truex Jr.

Cup drivers also occupy the first 7 spots in Busch championship points, with Kevin Harvick currently 272 points ahead of Carl Edwards, followed by Clint Bowyer, Denny Hamlin, Greg Biffle, J.J. Yeley, and Kyle Busch.

Three Busch series regulars fill out the top 10 - Paul Menard, Johnny Sauter, and Kenny Wallace.

Buschwhacking has always had its share of supporters and opponents in the Cup and Busch garages. While critics allege that the Cup drivers are motivated to participate in Busch races mainly for the money, the drivers themselves cite a variety of reasons, such as gaining extra seat time and familiarity with certain tracks - tracks which they will usually be driving on the next day in the Cup race. Some drivers argue that they do it purely for the love of racing. And while some Busch drivers enjoy the challenge of matching skills with the Cup boys, others complain that they are simply outmatched by the equipment and resources of the Cup teams, which tend to be better equipped, more powerful, and much better funded than their Busch series counterparts.

A new twist was added to the equation at the start of the 2006 season when NASCAR revamped the testing rules for Cup teams, greatly reducing the flexibility of teams to choose the dates and locations of testing. The number of tests is now limited to just six, and NASCAR specifies the tracks - Charlotte, Daytona, Las Vegas, Richmond, Homestead and Indianapolis - and the dates for testing. Although teams are still permitted to test at tracks that don't host Cup races (Kentucky, Nashville and Rockingham, for example), those six predetermined dates are the only opportunities that teams have to test on the tracks where they eventually compete for the Nextel Cup title.

Some Cup teams have asserted that the revised testing policy has forced them to send drivers to more Busch races, since the Cup and Busch events take place at the same track on most weekends. But the ever-increasing dominance of Cup drivers in the Busch series has prompted some to argue that the Busch series is losing its identity as a separate entity from the Cup series.

Of course, track owners, advertisers, TV executives, and other interests with a financial stake in the Busch series find it hard to criticize the increased attention (read: revenue) that the Cup drivers bring to Busch events.

Nevertheless, critics are calling for changes to the current system - perhaps restricting the number of Busch races that the Cup drivers can run, or allowing them to participate but not earn points or compete for the Busch championship.

With this ongoing debate as a backdrop, Kenny Wallace told Mike Helton on NASCAR Raceday that he is approached by fans every week who complain about the unfairness of Buschwhacking and ask when NASCAR is going to do something about it. Wallace asked the NASCAR President to comment, and Helton replied:

"This isn't a new issue. What is new, I think, in the modern era of the standard being raised, the quality of cars, the depth of the quality of cars in the garage area - the Busch garage is what we're talking about - is the uncertainty of what to do next by some car owners. And I don't think NASCAR is going to change its philosophy on the Busch series or the truck series being open to whoever wants to participate in it. We're not going to change that philosophy I don't think in any short term. But what we do need to pay attention to is how we can make the rules and regulations and the operational procedure issues that NASCAR can control - how do we do that so that Joe Nemechek can pass Dale Earnhardt at the last lap of New Hampshire the first time we went up there, or Jimmy Spencer can race against Bobby Allison and beat him at a Busch race - those types of things that we remember seeing in the past is what we can work on - NASCAR can work on - the rules, the regulations and the procedures so that the Busch series can learn from the involvement from the Cup participants and not be damaged by it."

So it appears from Mr. Helton's comments that if you were hoping for wholesale changes to the practice of Buschwhacking, you will probably be disappointed.

NASCAR may take steps to try to increase parity between the smaller Busch teams and their wealthier Cup counterparts, but how effective those changes will be remains to be seen.

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.