NASCAR has stepped up to save teams money by halting testing. No matter what NASCAR does it is always seems to say it is doing so to save teams money. Most recently it saved teams money on the Car of Tomorrow. OK, it didn’t really save teams any money…it cost them a ton…but it did make the car safer.
Now as far as the testing halt…what happens to all that testing leading up to the Daytona 500? It is entertaining watching who is gets it right and listening to the big dog car owners that don’t get it right cry about the competition and advantages teams with other manufacturers have. Somehow that always gets things going.
The ban may not be a money saver at all, as teams which are normally already budgeted now for next year, may shift the budget from testing to research such as wind tunnel analysis.
But not to worry, testing will go on. No team is going to want to roll their car off the hauler at a track featuring a purse of 18 million dollars and be unprepared. They will simply shake the car down somewhere else, like a Texas World Speedway or Disney World Speedway. NASCAR doesn’t have affiliation with every track, despite the fact that sometimes it feels that way. There are a whole lot of options for teams that want track time.
Another option is for teams to use the Nationwide Series as a test. Not all teams can afford to compete in two series, but those that can, will have an advantage.
And don’t you just know every driver is going to want to be the Goodyear spokesman come 2009? Tire testing will be the crown jewel next year.
Could it be that limited testing prior to the Daytona 500 and a ban on racing in the Nationwide Series for any Cup team owner or driver in the top-ten of NASCAR points based on the 10 most recent races (including 2008) might have been a better solution to an all out ban?
OK, maybe not, but one thing is sure the money saved on testing will be spent on creatively finding ways to test the car and driver. Testing continues to be as important a part of racing today as it was in the past. It was testing that brought us to where we are today in NASCAR Cup. While a ban on racing in the smaller series makes sense, a ban of testing at the Cup level is going a step backwards.
And so while I agree that prohibiting testing in some NASCAR Series was the right move and will actually be beneficial, at the Cup level it will only further separate the haves from the haves not and testing for the wealthiest teams will continue…just not at a track or Series that earns them NASCAR Cup points.
