I think NASCAR started it when they stopped announcing the purse for races and the driver prize winnings. For MANY years, putting out lists of driver season and career earnings was a BIG deal. My take is that it changed because they were embarrassed by how much those numbers had fallen, and because they got tired of explaining how a driver who finished 18th could take home a smaller purse than someone who finished 24th. The owner championship ambiguity has gone on for many years in Xfinity, mostly because of the super teams using all-star driver lineups that would out point the full time drivers. In HMS's case, Brian Vickers won the 2003 XFinity Driver's title, but HMS did not win the owner's title. Can ANYBODY remember who DID? Probably not.