Nationwide Has a Chance to Find Itself

Jan 16 2012 - 3:44pm

With the news that Carl Edwards won’t compete in the full NASCAR Nationwide Series season—which follows the news that Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski won’t either—the Nationwide Series has a chance to find itself.

There’s nothing wrong with the series, first of all. That’s not what this is about. It’s a good series, which provides thrilling racing and a good show all its own. What it is about is, for the first time in quite a while, the focus should be on the drivers who earn points in the division, not the drivers who earn points on Sundays.

Edwards, Busch and Keselowski are taking time to concentrate on the racing that pays the bills for them, which is the Sprint Cup Series. That’s good for them, and it will allow the Nationwide Series regulars to begin to forge their own identities.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won the title in 2011, fighting off a determined group of rivals to win it at Homestead. He did that while Edwards won eight races and led more than 1,800 laps. Stenhouse was a good story, but it sort of comes with an asterisk: Edwards would have won going away had he been able to score points in the series.

It seemed like every race that Edwards didn’t win, either Busch or Keselowski did, and that wasn’t doing anyone any good. Yeah, it allowed the younger and rising racers to learn against the best, but it wasn’t doing them or their team owners any good. All the money went to Cup teams with strong NNS programs.

The number of cars that will show up for Daytona will be key. If it’s a full house, then the series can make its own way. If it’s light, well, it could be a dismal season for Joe Balash and the rest of the NNS.

This is not to say that Edwards, Busch and BK won’t drive in any of the races; they likely will. But it won’t be the full-season onslaught it has been since NASCAR decided the cars should match up, more or less.

Here’s hoping that the season goes off without a hitch and we crown a Nationwide Series champion who wins the most races and earns the most money. It’s what is needed now.