[mitchntx]

After watching a some of the coverage of the Daytona 500 this weekend and hearing a lot of discussion about the costs associated with feilding a competitive team and hearing the gnashing of teeth surrounding the dwindling sponsorships and hearing the concerns about enough cars to field a full grid and seeing Waltrip's wild tumble and seeing that tumble re-played on network after network after network ....

I began to wonder ....

Because it's all about the number of minutes a specific sponsor get's it's name on TV, when will a driver, who is an "also ran", purposely wreck his car, just get gleen a few extra minutes of sponsor coverage?

Is it cost effective to spend a $100,000 race car in order to keep a $10 million sponsor?

NAPA received tons of exposure from networks to local TV stations replaying his wreck. I would hate to see that happen on purpose, but ... it has to be there in someone's mind ...

[NataSS Inc]

Just want to add my .02

I did a short stint in sprint cars and did a couple runs in a super moddifed rig. Yeah we went around in circles, but there was alot more to it than just going in circles after a 100 lap run I was mentally and physically fatigued beyond belief. Trying to pilot an 800+hp open wheeled car in a crowd was NO easy task. Everytime you lift off the throttle the car wants to jump to the left, if you ever got "behind your car" you would be on the next edition of "MAX X" or speedvision where they show the worst crashes. I loved being in those cars!

NASCAR on the hand, has been bastardized as of late. There isnt the feel there like there used to be. To much commercialism. When I ran open wheels stuff got ugly....alot. I think it was because there was alot more passion driving what we did due to small (see:non existant) bugets. Now you have HUGE industry names on cars and the drivers pimping the product like cheap little whores. When I hear a NASCAR driver say something to the effect of "I just want to thank pepsi for making this win possible" it makes my stomach churn. Do you really think pepsi had anything to do with the car other than swathing a big check to get the largest part of the car for a sticker? NO! What I like seeing is the guy that says "I just want to thank the mom and pop differential shop that rebuilt my rear end so I could even make this race".........anyways....I am rambling so I will shut up now.

BUT I do like to watch NASCAR.