{"id":378,"date":"2016-10-19T22:37:23","date_gmt":"2016-10-20T02:37:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonmotorsport.com\/?p=378"},"modified":"2016-10-19T22:37:23","modified_gmt":"2016-10-20T02:37:23","slug":"address-cup-drivers-xfinity-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2016\/10\/19\/address-cup-drivers-xfinity-series\/","title":{"rendered":"Enough is Enough: It\u2019s Time to Address Cup Drivers in the Xfinity Series"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kyle Busch<\/strong> claimed his 9th<\/sup> Xfinity Series<\/strong> win of the season this weekend at the Kansas Speedway<\/strong>. This sparks\u00a0the age old debate question: Should Sprint Cup Series<\/strong> drivers be allowed to race in the lower tier series?<\/p>\n

Enough is Enough: It\u2019s Time to Address Cup Drivers in the Xfinity Series<\/h2>\n

Creation and Intention<\/h3>\n

The Xfinity Series began with good intentions. It was meant to be a series for developing drivers as well as a series that drivers who aren\u2019t good enough for Cup to run in. That quickly shattered when the liked of\u00a0Dale Earnhardt<\/strong> and Mark Martin<\/strong>\u00a0would arrive. These drivers ran a majority of the races and would smoke the competition in the late 80s and and 90s. This really limited the amount of wins actual Xfinity drivers could contend for..<\/p>\n

Most current Cup series drivers are young; around 18-21. The drivers that come down are typically 30+ and often\u00a0Sprint Cup Champions. These young drivers have barely got their foot in the door and are already fighting against\u00a0Kevin Harvick<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

For a series with the slogan \u201cNames are Made Here\u201d, that is unacceptable. Nobody has the chance to make a name for themselves when they are staring at Kyle Busch\u2019s bumper as he effortlessly defeats\u00a0them. Kyle Busch’s dominance in the Xfinity Series makes him the worst offender. The 2009 Xfinity Series Champion has won more races in the series than anyone. With 85 Xfinity Series wins, 9 in 2016,\u00a0it seems nobody can stop the Kyle Busch show.<\/p>\n

Cup Winners in 2016<\/h3>\n

The 2016 season alone Cup drivers have won a staggering 19 out of the 30 races run so far. Here is a list of all Cup regulars who have won this season:<\/p>\n

Kyle Busch- 9 wins<\/p>\n

Austin Dillon<\/strong>– 2 wins<\/p>\n

Joey Logano<\/strong>– 2 wins<\/p>\n

Dale Earnhardt Jr<\/strong><\/p>\n

Denny Hamlin<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kyle Larson<\/strong><\/p>\n

Michael McDowell<\/strong><\/p>\n

Chase Elliott<\/strong><\/p>\n

Aric Almirola<\/strong><\/p>\n

An Xfinity Series regular didn\u2019t win in 2016 until when Erik Jones won in the seventh event.<\/p>\n

Attempted Control<\/h3>\n

The Cup series invasion comes at a price. Most of the Cup drivers don\u2019t race for points. This is because after the 2010 season NASCAR implemented a rule stating the Cup drivers would no longer be eligible to receive points in any but their primary series. This rule was put into place after Cup Series regulars won every Xfinity Series championship between 2006 and 2010.<\/p>\n

The rule change has not stopped\u00a0some\u00a0Cup drivers. The worst being the 2013 season when Cup drivers won 84% of the races. Austin Dillon won the Championship having not won a single race that season. Second place Sam Hornish Jr.<\/strong> won only once. These statistics have angered fans to the point that attendance and TV ratings have plummeted. Fans lash out on social media condemning these drivers and NASCAR for letting this happen.<\/p>\n

Cup drivers have also had a major impact of the outcome of important races in the Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series. Here are a few instances in which Cup drivers affected the result of a lower tier championship:<\/p>\n

2011 Winstar World Casino 350k:<\/h3>\n

Kyle Busch had been battling Ron<\/strong> Hornaday<\/strong> mid-pack for position early on. Hornaday bumps Busch and puts them both into the wall. Busch retaliated by dumping Hornaday in turn three,\u00a0taking them both out. Busch was parked for the Texas Cup race and Hornaday was eliminated from Championship contention.<\/p>\n

Brad Keselowski vs Carl Edwards Gateway 2010:<\/h3>\n

Edwards and Keselowski were racing to the finish when Carl Edwards turned Brad Keselowski. This caused a significant accident, taking out numerous Xfinity regulars. This included some from lower-funded teams. Considering that these drivers come from well-funded teams, it was a big blow to those smaller teams.<\/p>\n

2015 Alert Today Florida 300:<\/h3>\n

This Xfinity Series race was the event in which Kyle Busch broke his leg. This sparked a lot of fans to say Kyle Busch didn\u2019t deserve his waiver because he should not have been in that race. Regardless of what opinions there are regarding this race, it is clear that running Xfinity races can still injure these Cup regulars and effect their Cup careers.<\/p>\n

2013 Ford Ecoboost 300:<\/h3>\n

In this event was a two-way battle for the championship between Sam Hornish Jr and Austin Dillon. Hornish needed to finish as far ahead as Austin Dillon as he could. He qualified on the pole and finished eighth. With his finish, Hornish lost the Championship by 3 points. Who finished ahead of him? His Penske Racing<\/strong>\u00a0teammates Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano. Had they been behind him, Hornish would be\u00a0crowned champion.<\/p>\n

Now that the Chase format is in the Xfinity and Truck Series, wins are more important. With 19 races won by Cup drivers so far, that\u2019s 19 chances for some regulars to win and make the Chase gone. Some prime examples have been Aric Almirola<\/strong> stealing the July Daytona win from Justin Allgaier<\/strong>, Kyle Busch taking\u00a0the Chicago truck win over\u00a0Daniel Hemric<\/strong>,\u00a0among others.<\/p>\n

Four Possible Solutions<\/h3>\n
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  1. Ban Cup drivers from the lower series entirely. If this means Xfinity races only contain 30 drivers, then so be it. The sponsors would need no longer support\u00a0Cup drivers in the Xfinity series. If they want to sponsor Carl Edwards or Kyle Larson, limit this to\u00a0their Cup rides. The only exemption are Sprint Cup rookies of the year candidates.<\/li>\n
  2. Limit the Cup drivers to no more than five races of their choosing annually. That is five races in either Trucks or Xfinity, not both. This would make the drivers question weather it is truly worth it to pull\u00a0double duty.<\/li>\n
  3. Tell the Cup drivers they can run as many races as they want, but the Xfinity and Cup series will never race at the same track during the same weekend. For example, if the Sprint Cup was at Dover, the Xfinty series would be at Fontana. The only exemptions are Daytona in February and Homestead in November. This will make travelling in between the tracks next to impossible for the Cup Drivers.<\/li>\n
  4. The last suggestion is to make a rule stating that any previous Sprint Cup Champion is prohibited from running lower tier races in a NASCAR sanctioned series. They have won a championship in the highest level of NASCAR. They don\u2019t need to be racing in the lower series anymore.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Final Thoughts<\/h3>\n

    At they end of the day this whole dilemma is entirely subjective. Some people enjoy it, others hate it. This debate has been going on for years. There is no doubt that there is a problem in the Xfinity series. The Cup drivers are causing the ratings and attendance to go down. As a fan watching the series its gets tiring the names of the Cup drivers all at the front. It is repetitive and stale.<\/p>\n

    Seeing the same driver dominate every week isn\u2019t good for a series where names are supposed to be made. These drivers don\u2019t give the up-and-comers a chance when they dominate the series every week. There is no doubt Daniel Suarez<\/strong> would have more than two wins this year without\u00a0Cup drivers. It is said that\u00a0NASCAR is thinking about doing something about the Cup drivers, but that change could potentially come a little to late.<\/p>\n

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    Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n