Now, onto a few other things.

This year’s Silly Season has been especially ludicrous. Robert Yates Racing (referred to here as RYR for simplicity’s sake) announced their alliance with a successful open wheel team, and things looked a little rosier over there. Kenny Wallace seemed to be all but fitting seats for the 88 car when suddenly the news came that Robert Yates is retiring, ownership of his portion of the company will go to his son Doug, and now Travis Kvapil appears to be next year’s full-time #88 driver.

Well, that’s a lot to swallow. Kenny has been subbing for the injured Ricky Rudd and if anyone deserves a quality, full-time ride, it’s the Hermanator. I’m not trying to discredit Kvapil, who by all accounts is a hardworking young man who needs a chance too. But when it seems to be common knowledge that you have a driver lined up for the next year and then you change it for someone with far less experience, I think the fans feel both a little cheated and suspicious.

I think Kenny knows that he probably isn’t going to be a contender for the championship. But at the very least let him do what Mark Martin does and share his ride. Kenny is a knowledgeable man and a good driver, and I think mentoring Kvapil would both help Kvapil and make Kenny realize that he is a useful asset to a team both on and off the track.

In addition, why can’t RYR bring Stephen Leicht in on the scene, and run the #90 CitiFinancial Busch car next year, splitting time with Kvapil? They both get much needed seat time, and if RYR decides to try and field a third car for select events, Leicht will have more confidence and have gained driving ability.

Perhaps it is the influx of these new “mergers” and “business partners” that is dramatically changing the landscape of NASCAR as we know it. The Roush/Fenway merger was novel, and I don’t think anyone thought too much about it until more sports organizations began to come in. Evernham Motorsports merged with George Gillett, Jr. and is now GEM. The Arizona Diamondbacks outfit has bought into Hall of Fame Racing. Richard Childress has admitted that the baseball bigwig who visited with him in California may be interested in joining the team as a part owner and financial backer.

I don’t know what I think about all these things. Certainly the cost of running in NASCAR has skyrocketed, but I think NASCAR is to blame for letting these things happen. We have superteams now, with four and five cars or alliances with other teams to share data. The competition has been suppressed. The cookie cutter is in.

Here’s the way I look at it: The Car of Tomorrow is a start in the right direction. While I know it definitely has some strong drawbacks, the idea of going to this car permanently next year will help bring down some costs. Maybe not next near or even the next, but it will happen. Next, the manufacturers, not other race teams, should assemble and dole out all engines. Each engine should be created by Chevy, Ford, Dodge and Toyota only and given to their respective teams. No more advantages to the big teams who have more resources to work diligently on their engines and also receive a monetary advantage for leasing the powerplants.

Get rid of the top 35 rule and allow only the fastest 43 qualifiers. No provisional starts. If you wreck during qualifying and your backup car isn’t good enough to make the field, sorry, Jeff Gordon, but you have to go home. Welcome to the field, Brian Vickers. I realize this may anger some people but don’t you find it just a little more interesting when someone you don’t expect to make the race -- much less qualify and run well --actually has a good finish? I am a huge Jeff Gordon fan but I know that his team would hustle if there was ever a chance he wouldn’t make the field.

Finally, set some caps on sponsorship dollars. If the cost of fielding a car is cut by identical cars and engines, the team owner shouldn’t, by definition, require as much capital to fund the racing operation. It’s a lot easier for teams to secure, say, ten million dollars in sponsorship than it is to secure twenty million (the most current estimate for sponsorship costs of top-tier teams).

By now you’re probably thinking this reads like the Communist Manifesto, but I really feel that NASCAR has to bring down some of the barriers. The problem is that they don’t want to, but in the face of recent issues such as television ratings falling and the continuing alienation of the original, core fans, they would do well to bring back some real excitement instead of the poorly fabricated Chase for the Cup.

My personal feeling is that Mike Helton would make better decisions than Brian France in these areas. France seems out of touch with the fans and the general sentiments fans express. I don’t even think he is at the tracks much. Helton, on the other hand, seems to value driver and fan input. He’s been known to call Tony Stewart about Tony’s opinions. The point is that while Helton doesn’t always accede to what he’s been asked to do, I feel that Helton is far more responsive to the unique needs of fans and drivers.

What I really want, folks, is a fair NASCAR without cheesy manufactured drama and a real playoff system that brings the top drivers closer together but doesn’t erase what they worked the entire season to achieve. I want more teams to get a better chance at making the show. I want the old-school fans to feel comfortable with and confident about stock car racing again. I want new fans to understand the roots of NASCAR and stick with us for 38 weeks out of the year.

I want our sport to be the best that it can be.

Next week I’ll be in Walt Disney World but I’ll be back on the last Thursday of the month with lots of things to catch up on.

Until then, remember that rubbin’ is racin’!

Questions and comments may be sent to samanthamaynard@sportsgrumblings.com