Cup Drivers Regain Rule of Nationwide Series

By David Smith (on Twitter at @DavidSmithMA)
June 18, 2012


Driver A is told over the radio to not worry about Driver B. Driver B, you see, is ineligible to win the championship in this series. Let him win, Driver A is told. So, Driver A only has to worry about Driver G, not Drivers B through F, who are from another series and are only here for the glory and prize money. Be smart, Driver A is told. Race for the championship, not to become a better driver.

The best drivers are the biggest producers. It is not a grand revelation for the NASCAR Nationwide Series that the drivers descending upon NASCAR’s AAA division from the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series are annually the best, but the point standing eligibility rules have shooed off the likes of Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch from full-time contention. Things were eventually supposed to be different. As it turns out, the name on the trophy changed but the environment did not.

Out with Carl and Kyle, in with Joey and Kurt.

Joey Logano earned his fifth win of the Nationwide Series season Saturday at Michigan International Speedway. Not coincidentally, he is the most adept driver between green flag and checkered flag in 2012, ranking first in Production in Equal Equipment Ratings (PEER) with a 5.682. Partly because Ricky Stenhouse’s high production has been hog-tied and partly because, well, they are Sprint Cup Series drivers for a reason, the top five in PEER is Cup Series turf ... Read More

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David Smith is the Editor-in-Chief of Motorsports Analytics and the host of The David Smith Podcast. Follow him on Twitter at @DavidSmithMA.