July 9, 2007
By Chuck Wallace

Most NASCAR fans know what a Buschwhacker is. And most fans recognize that Cup drivers’ participation in Busch series events, week in and week out, is a problem—at least at some level. After all, the Busch series is supposed to be NASCAR’s triple-A league, or its “undercard” depending which sports analogy you prefer. (In case you don’t know, a Buschwhacker is the nickname given to a Cup driver participating in a Busch series race).

In 2006, Cup regular Kevin Harvick obliterated his competition in the Busch series, locking up the series title with four races remaining—the earliest clinching of the championship in Busch series history. Harvick’s dominance rendered the last month of Busch series racing in 2006 all but meaningless. And in 2007, Cup regular Carl Edwards appears to be making a similar run.

But the Busch series isn’t supposed to be dominated by Cup regulars. While the participation of Cup regulars increases Busch race prestige, and even helps Busch series drivers improve their skills by racing regularly against the Cup series’ best, at its core, the Busch series isn’t meant to be just another showcase for Cup drivers’ talent.

Yet, Buschwhacking continues, and Harvick’s performance in 2006 and Edwards’ in 2007 indicate that it is getting worse. Drivers without full-time Cup rides won 16 of the 34 races on the Busch series schedule in 2003, 11 in 2004, 10 in 2005—and just two in 2006. Halfway through the 2007 campaign, Stephen Leicht’s victory at Kentucky Speedway marks the only checkered flag taken by a driver without a full-time Cup team. (Technically, Aric Almirola was credited for the win at Milwaukee because he started the race for Cup regular Denny Hamlin when Hamlin’s helicopter couldn’t find a place to land. Hamlin took over during an early pit stop and took the checkered flag—a move that many saw as an insult to the young Almirola, who had qualified the car on the pole while Hamlin tended to his Cup duties in Sonoma, and was running up front when replaced.)

The recent rise in Cup drivers’ weekly participation in Busch races is due, in part, to their access to private jet aircraft that allows them to compete in the handful of Busch events that aren’t held on the same track as the Cup race on a given weekend. Those scattered weekends on the schedule that used to render it nearly impossible for a Cup regular to win a Busch series championship, are now but a mere travel annoyance, as the Hamlin/Almirola episode illustrates.

In fact, Carl Edwards attributed his win at Nashville in June, in part, to car owner Jack Roush’s new, faster airplane. After practicing his Cup car at Pocono earlier in the day, Edwards said, “We went as fast as we could to a helicopter, flew over to Wilkes-Barre airport, got on a jet, flew here, jumped out of the jet, got on another helicopter, landed here and ran the car.” That simply couldn’t have happened in the past—but now it’s just part of the game.

It must be pointed out, however, that the Busch series remains the second highest rated racing series on American television. The races are competitive and fun both at the track and in our living rooms, and it is unknown just how much of that excitement is precisely because there are Cup regulars in the field. In other words, would the Busch series be as popular with the fans (and more importantly, the sponsors) if Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart weren’t competing? The answer is almost certainly ‘no.’ NASCAR is well aware of this reality—and so a complete overhaul of the Busch series is highly unlikely. But perhaps an overhaul isn’t necessary.

NASCAR needs to establish a new trophy in the Busch series, complete with a 10 race “chase” playoff format—BUT for which Cup regulars aren’t eligible. The Busch championship would remain open to all competitors and awarded just like it always has been. Cup regulars wouldn’t be kept out of Busch racing and could continue their dominance there. But a separate trophy for the Busch-only competitors would give hardware and legitimacy to a points race that, as of now, isn’t even official (but you can bet is on the minds of everyone involved in a Busch-only team). And a chase format would build some much needed late season excitement into the Busch series.

With a separate trophy, Kevin Harvick and Matt Kenseth might still win the last four races of the Busch season like they did in 2006 … but wouldn’t it be exciting if, at the same time, Bobby Hamilton, Jr., Jason Leffler and Scott Wimmer were still fighting for the Busch-only trophy, as the green flag fell at Homestead in November?

And what better way to honor the career and legacy of racing great Charles “Red” Farmer than by naming the Busch-only trophy after him. Between 1946 and 1975, Red Farmer won more than 700 stock car races, and in 1998, Farmer was named one of the 50 greatest drivers in NASCAR history. But Red Farmer ran only 36 Cup series races in his career—choosing instead to compete in NASCAR’s Late Model Sportsman series, the circuit we now call the Busch series. Farmer won Late Model Sportsman titles in 1969, 1970 and 1971, and was voted NASCAR’s most popular driver four times. In his early 60s, Farmer returned to the Busch series in 1992 to compete in two races. If anybody personifies the Busch series, it’s Red Farmer.

With a special trophy for the season’s top Busch series-only driver, NASCAR could bring some of the legitimacy back to the Busch series—which is supposed to be NASCAR’s top “undercard.” A chase format would make the Busch season more exciting, and give Busch drivers the chance to experience the pressure of a playoff-style format, like some of them may face later in their careers in the Cup series. There would still be a Busch series championship open to all competitors, including Cup regulars, just like before. But with the Red Farmer Trophy NASCAR could honor the legacy of Busch series racing and give the series back some of the dignity that has been lost to the rising tide of Buschwhacking.

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.