Are more limits coming for Cup drivers in Xfinity, Truck Series?

StandOnIt

StandOnIt

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NASCAR’s Steve O’Donnell hinted Monday that a decision could be coming soon on if to further limit Cup drivers next year in the Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series.

“More and more the fans are speaking very loudly that they like the rising talent that we have in this series, we do as well, and the established veterans that are there. That is continuing on and we’ll have to make a decision really, really quickly in terms of what we do for 2019. We took a pretty bold step this year and that’s something we’ve got to evaluate and see if we want to go further.’’
https://nascar.nbcsports.com/2018/0...ming-for-cup-drivers-in-xfinity-truck-series/

Man I hope so, I ripped them good on one of their YouTube videos.
 
The poster boy photo from the article

kfdb29Rr
 
I also wouldn't mind cup teams such as Penske and JGR banned from running in either series.
 
Then you won't have a series. Count the cars currently owned by cup teams
in Xfinity alone. Junior's team don't use cup drivers but his engineering etc is from HMS.
 
Team Penske said:
Then you won't have a series. Count the cars currently owned by cup teams
in Xfinity alone. Junior's team don't use cup drivers but his engineering etc is from HMS.
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Not sure you read the article
 
I like that they ban the Cup drivers from the playoffs and Dash contest. I've always felt having a Cup driver in the race gives the up and comers a yardstick to measure themselves. Going into Cup too soon can ruin a career. Limiting the number of races is probably a good idea but I don't know how many races is the right number.
 
ChexOrWrex said:
5 years too late.
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Xfinity and Trucks never should have been an ego boosting playground for current Cup stars. I would say 10-15 years too late by that logic. Limited lower series appearances never should have become championship campaigns and weekly dominance. However, they are gradually getting it right in this regard now, and it's never too late to do that. The series aren't folding.
 
DIDIT said:
I also wouldn't mind cup teams such as Penske and JGR banned from running in either series.
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Teams need ways to develop their upcoming pit crews, crew and car chiefs, etc. I wouldn't mind seeing them limited to fielding only one or two cars.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
" O’Donnell said in April on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio that series officials were monitoring the reaction of fans and others in the sport about limits on Cup drivers in other national series. “It’s one thing to say we like this, but fans need to turn out, ratings need to be there and those sorts of things,’’ O’Donnell said at the time."

In brief, Cup drivers put butts in the seats.
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“It’s one thing to say we like this, but fans need to turn out, ratings need to be there and those sorts of things,’’ O’Donnell said at the time."

And I believe we will find that out in the last 10 races.
 
Sure...make a bunch of changes...have always enjoyed ten vehicle races...so exciting
 
I can't speak for anyone else, but I have NEVER watched the lower series to see the Cup stars, quite the opposite. I'm perfectly fine watching those series with nothing but up and comers and journeymen and guys on the way back down. I watched every ASA I could find for years without Cup drivers in the field, and I watch sports car races where nobody but sports car fans have ever heard of 75% of the drivers, so why do we need Cup stars to make these races worth watching?
 
The owners have a stop watch they can use for the fast one's coming up from the lower series, or they can sign a driver that brings a wheel borrow full of money, or one that comes as a name brand or any combination of the three. They take cars apart, throw out wins in an event as small as the snowball derby, dirt tracks throw guys out of the race, some are banned for numerous cheating violations. Nascar and the press has everybody looking from the top down. You want the series to grow? make it easier for the teams who want to run full time or part time in either of the lower series I posted an article in the truck area about some positive changes Nascar made for teams that wanted to give it a try in the truck series. All year long there have been some single truck teams that have been showing speed and being competitive since they made some changes, and the latest article was about losing the big advantage the larger teams had with race entry over a start up team. It isn't an accident it is better racing this year.
 
Team Penske said:
Then you won't have a series. Count the cars currently owned by cup teams
in Xfinity alone. Junior's team don't use cup drivers but his engineering etc is from HMS.
Click to expand...
Going to disagree with you. I understand your perspective. I think if there are no cup teams then you will see an increase in single car independent teams. Teams that run ARCA and other late model series today would probably think they have more of a chance in competing and could step up and run truxk/X races. I realize racing has always been money game, but these cup teams almost have unlimited resources.
 
DIDIT said:
Going to disagree with you. I understand your perspective. I think if there are no cup teams then you will see an increase in single car independent teams. Teams that run ARCA and other late model series today would probably think they have more of a chance in competing and could step up and run truxk/X races. I realize racing has always been money game, but these cup teams almost have unlimited resources.
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Agreed. While it is a complicated balance, the guaranteed way to eliminate small team participation is to make conditions only favorable to large ones.
 
DIDIT said:
Going to disagree with you. I understand your perspective. I think if there are no cup teams then you will see an increase in single car independent teams. Teams that run ARCA and other late model series today would probably think they have more of a chance in competing and could step up and run truxk/X races. I realize racing has always been money game, but these cup teams almost have unlimited resources.
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At one time no cup teams had cars in the lower series, now half the field are cup cars.
Who wants to throw a few million out the window trying to start a team these days?
 
don't see it happening, people want to see the stars race, when they are sitting in the stands.
 
hidesert cowboy said:
don't see it happening, people want to see the stars race, when they are sitting in the stands.
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Once again, all I want to see is an interesting race. I don't care whether they are stars or not. People forget that other than Mark Martin, this regular influx of Cup drivers is a fairly recent thing. The two lower series for did just fine for years without having a half dozen Cup drivers in the field. Are the TV ratings or the attendance numbers that much different for the races the Cup drivers can't run in from the ones they can? I have thought for a long time that one of the big problems with these younger drivers is that they don't get enough opportunities to actually WIN races, so when they get to Cup they underperform in the crunch. Running for third or fourth behind Cup drivers every week does NOT teach what actually racing an equal peer for the win does in my opinion.
 
hidesert cowboy said:
don't see it happening, people want to see the stars race, when they are sitting in the stands.
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I agree with Jackman. I assume when you say stars, you mean the cup drivers. The fans that want to see them can go to the big show. X and trucks also have "stars", and fans like myself will go to see them. There are many short track stars that have very dedicated fans that travel frequently to watch them race. A racing "star" can have many different meanings to different fans.
 
Formerjackman said:
Once again, all I want to see is an interesting race. I don't care whether they are stars or not. People forget that other than Mark Martin, this regular influx of Cup drivers is a fairly recent thing. The two lower series for did just fine for years without having a half dozen Cup drivers in the field. Are the TV ratings or the attendance numbers that much different for the races the Cup drivers can't run in from the ones they can?
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The part I agree with.
 
StandOnIt said:
were they still racing in the lower series 16 years and 342 races later?
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I'm not going to defend Gant in the Busch Series any more than anyone else, BUT, over his career he ran about 1/3 of the Busch races and did it not with a Cup team or defacto Cup team, but Ed Whitaker Racing, not exactly anyone's idea of a powerhouse organization. Maybe I would feel better about Kyle and the others in the Xfinity Series if they were driving for Johnny Davis or Jimmy Means. I will also say that back then, a lot of guys did it to pay the bills, or to have something to fall back on in later years. The Cup guys that are running in the lower classes today aren't missing any meals.
 
The rules of entry for NASCAR events are well known.

Applying imaginary moral standards is not covered.
 
Grant, Earnhardt, Jarrett, Elliott, Martin, Waltrip et al were missing meals?

The selective memory comment is accurate.
 
You need Cup stars because people need to be interested. People are less and less interested in the actual sport and more interested in the people, personalities and storylines. Look at the general sports landscape. If the NBA finals was between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Miami Heat people wouldn't care enough to watch and it would draw a terrible rating. People want star power. They enjoy David vs Goliath and the best against the best. It's the same reason why a majority of sports minor league teams do not sell out their venues unless a star player is down rehabbing. People want the opportunity to see the best as much as possible.
 
It will be a difficult compromise either way, for sure...the fans sure do seem to pack the grandstands and turn on the television whenever Kyle Busch and Co. are racing Xfinity. They should be allowed a handful of races still.
 
I guess that makes sense in a stick n ball way. It isn't so in the racing world when a full time cup driver comes down with a cup crew and leaches prize money, not hurt, not rehabbing, not a salaried temporary pro player. :confused:
 
DIDIT said:
I am no expert on 1998 and I wonder if any cup drivers drove for a owner of a cup team. At a glance I didn't notice any. I think that is one difference from today.
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Look harder. You know how racing works.
 
On the other hand...it is hard to learn from a guy like Kyle Busch. Kyle Busch does it on pure talent. You can't teach pure talent.

So Idk.
 
What would have made sense 10 or 15 years ago or even now would be the implementation of a minimum age bracket

K&N 14+
Trucks 16+
Xfinity 18+
Cup 21+

This would have made it easier for good drivers to develop in lower series and really establish their name and skills before coming up to cup.
 
The guys talked about this on today's NASCAR America. About how years ago, the cup drivers that dropped down to the Busch series, drove
their own equipment -- not stuff from the Cup owners. They also pointed out that when Kyle Busch drove his own equipment, he didn't win.
Dale Jr. explained that he's racing in Richmond this Fall because the sponsorship money is important to the company for his teams.
 
StandOnIt said:
I guess that makes sense in a stick n ball way. It isn't so in the racing world when a full time cup driver comes down with a cup crew and leaches prize money, not hurt, not rehabbing, not a salaried temporary pro player. :confused:
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True statement, however, it doesn't change the analogy. The reality is that more and more people watch the people they want to watch. All of the fans that tune in on Saturday for an Xfinity race or attend to see their favorite driver are going to outweigh the ones that are bitter because he or she is in the field. It works that way all the way down to our local scenes. My Son and myself have favorites all around the local tracks, but their are a couple of guys that we will go out of our way to see because the experience is better for us that way.
 
I was under the impression that “cup drivers are needed to fill seats” was debunked last season? And the prior season? And prior from that?

It’ll come up again here.
 
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