What If...

NASCAR recently announced they were thinking about limiting Sprint Cup drivers in the Nationwide Series.  No one exactly knows how they will do this, or if they will at all.  After all, the Cup drivers put the butts in the seats and the big stickers on the cars.  But they also have taken away seats from young drivers looking to make names for themselves.

The series (called the Busch series until 2007) was designed to develop young drivers.  Cup drivers have always competed, but mostly only 5-10 races a year, and it wasn't for their Cup owners.  The Cup stats mostly drove for small, independent teams.  Throughout the 90s, more Cup teams expanded to include Busch teams.  But they didn't run their Cup stars full time.

Busch Series in 1982

That all changed in 2001.  Following Dale Earnhardt's death, Richard Childress decided to but his young Busch driver, Kevin Harvick, in the Cup car.  Instead of removing him from his Busch ride, he ran both series, which had never been done before.  Harvick dominated the Busch series that year and won the title.  In addition he had a stellar rookie year in the Cup series, winning two races.  This showed all drivers and owners that the "double" could be pulled off successfully.  Since then, Cup drivers have basically dominated the series, including winning the last four (soon to be five) championships.  And they've done it driving for the same team they drive for in the Cup series.  The smaller, non-Cup affiliated teams don't have a chance.  The last to win the championship was Ppc Racing in 2000 with driver Jeff Green.

Darrell Waltrip - Nashville 1995

So what if NASCAR had eliminated full time Cup drivers from competing this year?  Here's what the points would look like:

1.   Justin Allgaier
2.  Trevor Bayne
3.  Steve Wallace
4.  Jason Leffler
5.  Brendan Gaughan
6.  Michael Annett
7.  Brian Scott
8.  Reed Sorenson
9.  Tony Raines
10.  Mike Bliss

Jimmie Johnson's first start - IRP 1998

Only Allgaier has a victory this year, coming in the spring race at Bristol.  Here's what the win totals would be with full time Cup drivers removed from the race results:

Justin Allgaier - 5 wins
Reed Sorenson - 5 wins
Jason Leffler - 4 wins
Trevor Bayne - 3 wins
Brendan Gaughan - 2 wins
Ron Fellows - 2 wins
Aric Almirola  - 1 win
Jason Keller - 1 win

Jeff Green leads in 2003

Boris Said - 1 win
Brian Scott - 1 win
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. - 1 win
Steve Wallace - 1 win

Only Allgaier and Said have actual wins.  All the rest have been won by Cup regulars.  Imagine Jason Keller scoring an upset win at Talladega in an unsponsored car.  Or better yet, how about Braun Racing, winless in 2010, dominating with ten total wins.  How about Steve Wallace finally breaking into victory lane?  These would all be great storylines.

This is just something to think about, vote of the Tailpipe Poll with your opinion!

Underdog Bowyer Wins Round One

Going into the Sylvania 300, this year's Chase had the feel that it would be more wide open that any other Chase before it.  That feeling was felt even more after the conclusion, that saw 12th seed Clint Bowyer steal the race from a sputtering Tony Stewart.

Bowyer had dominated the first two-thirds of the race, leading 177 laps total.  But Tony Stewart seemed destined to win, as took he lead with 52 to go and held a large lead.  Fuel mileage would be an issue, however, as Stewart ran dry coming to take the white flag.  Bowyer held off a charging Denny Hamlin to take his first win since the spring 2008 Richmond race.

With his second place finish, Hamlin holds on to the points lead.  Bowyer is 35 back with Kevin Harvick lurking in third, 45 points behind he leader.

3 DRIVERS WHO WISH THEY RACED HERE EVERY WEEK

-Dale Earnhardt Jr., #88 Amp/National Guard Chevy.  Gotta give a little love to Junior.  He scores his first top five finish on a non-restrictor plate track since Michigan last year.

-Kevin Harvick, #29 Shell / Pennzoil Chevy.  Happy's car was evil at times, but he rallied to score a fifth place finish.  This team just might be destined to win the Cup.

-Sam Hornish Jr., #77 Mobil 1 Dodge.  It was announced that Sam's looking for a ride for next year, and a solid top ten finish will help his cause.

3 DRIVERS WHO WANT A DO-OVER

-Kurt Busch, #2 Miller Lite Dodge.  Kurt looked like a dart without feathers out there in the final 100 laps.  He finished 13th, but he could have had a top five.  Can't shoot yourself in the foot like that in the Chase.

-Matt Kenseth, #17 Crown Royal Ford.  The #17 team is on their third crew chief of the year, and still they made the Chase.  But they entered with the least amount of momentum, and contact with Brad Keselowski sent Matt into the wall and a 23rd place finish.  I agree with SPEED's Larry Mac, Kenseth and the #17 team are done already.

-Tony Stewart, #14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevy.  Darian Grubb's decision not to pit for fuel earlier cost Tony not only the win, but 89 points.  It's going to be real tough to make up those points in the final nine races.

Next race, the AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway.  Broadcast live on ABC Sunday, September 26th at 1 pm/et.

(Photos by Getty Images and Motorsport.com)

Busch Dominates Again at New Hampshire

With two laps to go in the The Race Raffle Series.com 175 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Kyle Busch had to take back what was stolen from him.  Kevin Harvick had pushed up into Kyle while racing for the lead with ten laps to go, allowing young James Buescher to take the lead.  But when Ron Hornaday crashed with five to go, it set up a green-white-checkered finish.  Busch quickly disposed of Buescher and held on to win his fifth Truck series race of the year.

Points leaders Todd Bodine and Aric Almirola finished tenth and ninth respectively.

3 DRIVERS WHO WISH THEY RACED HERE EVERY WEEK

-James Buescher, #31 Wolfpack Rentals Chevy.  James ties his best career finish (2nd) and proved that he can run up front with drivers such as Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick.  If he were to run full time next year, he could be a contender for the championship.  Something tells me he'll be back in the Nationwide series in 2011, however.

-Matt Crafton, #88 Menards Chevy.  Matt's fourth place finish is his sixth top five of the year, and it catapulted him from seventh to fifth in points.

-Bobby Hamilton Jr., #47 GreetingsExpress.com Chevy.  Bobby Jr. gets his first top ten finish since 2006, and the first of the year for the #47 truck.

3 DRIVERS WHO WANT A DO-OVER

-Ricky Carmichael, #4 Monster Energy Chevy.  Ricky turned in a solid top 15 qualifying run, but then lost control on lap 3 and pancaked the wall.  Tons of bad luck for RC the second half of this season.

-Eddie MacDonald, #71 Grimm Construction Ford.  The 30-year-old MacDonald's Truck series debut was cut short with a crash halfway through the race.

-Ron Hornaday, #33 EZ GO Chevy.  The defending champ's bad luck season continues.  Contact with Timothy Peters with five laps to go put the #33 in the wall.  The 24th place finish drops him to seventh in points.

Next race, the Smith's 350 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.  Broadcast live on SPEED Saturday, September 25th at 9:30 pm/et.

(Photos by Getty Images)

Hamlin Wins; Takes 1st Seed In Chase

Since the inception of the Chase in 2004, the fall Richmond race has been filled with drama.  That is, until the 2010 race.  Only one driver, Clint Bowyer, could fall out of the Chase, and that's only if he finished 28th or worse.  His pursuers, Mark Martin and Ryan Newman, had not been running well enough to challenge for the win, so this was basically locked up from the beginning.

Denny Hamlin, who had previously been tied with Jimmie Johnson for the most wins this year with five, took advantage of the Chase cut-off race to take the win in the Air Guard 400.  With that win, he now holds the point lead going into the final ten races, known as the Chase.  Here's a quick recap of the new point standings.

Hamlin
Jimmie Johnson  -10
Kevin Harvick  -30
Kyle Busch  -30
Kurt Busch  -40
Greg Biffle  -50
Tony Stewart  -50
Jeff Burton, Matt Kenseth, Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards, and Clint Bowyer  -60.

Only those twelve drivers matter now.  Does this mean Hamlin is now the favorite to win the Sprint Cup?  Hardly.  Harvick has had the best year to this point, and Johnson is still the four-time defending champ.  He always steps up his game in the final ten.

3 DRIVERS WHO WISH THEY RACED HERE EVERY WEEK

-Marcos Ambrose, #47 Kingsford/Kroger Toyota.  For the second time in his career he finishes in the top five on a short track.  Well done, mate.

-Juan Pablo Montoya, #42 Target Chevy.  Five top ten finishes in a row for the #42 team.  He's moved from 21st to 16th in points in that span.

-A.J. Allmendinger, #43 Best Buy Insignia Ford.  The Dinger qualified third and finished a solid eighth.  Good weekend.

3 DRIVERS WHO WANT A DO-OVER

-Mark Martin, #5 GoDaddy.com Chevy.  He came into Richmond with an outside shot at making the Chase.  But the car was slow all night, 20th place for Mark in what has been a disappointing season.

-Dale Earnhardt Jr., #88 Amp/National Guard Chevy.  Six laps down?  Are you kidding me?  Granted, one of those was lost in the pits.  But damn.

-Greg Biffle, #16 3M Ford.  Ever heard of momentum?  That's what the Biff will be looking for going into the Chase.  Sorry performance at Richmond, 32nd place.

Next race, the Chase begins at New Hampshire, it's the Sylvania 300.  Broadcast live on ABC Sunday, September 19th at 1 pm/et.

(Photos by Getty Images and Motorsport.com)

Harvick Wins Despite Presence of Kittens, Bunnies, and Little Baby Seals

Kevin Harvick dominated the Virginia 529 College Savings 250 at Richmond International Raceway for his third win of 2010.  It was also his 37th career Nationwide Series win.

The race was the third of four for the "next generation" car, and while there was good side-by-side racing (as there always is at Richmond), Harvick's domination made the race a bit of a snoozer.  Happy Harvick led 170 of the 250 laps.  Point leader Brad Keselowski made a run for the lead in the closing laps, but didn't have enough to pass Harvick.

Not that it's worth talking about, but BK extended his point lead to 373 over Carl Edwards, who finished tenth.

3 DRIVERS WHO WISH THEY RACED HERE EVERY WEEK

-Trevor Bayne, #99 OUT! Pet Care Toyota.  T-Bayne continues to impress.  He equals his best career finish of third.

-Ricky Stenhouse Jr., #6 Citifinancial Ford.  Ricky has two top five finishes in three races in the new car.  This team in finally starting to gain momentum.

-Reed Sorenson, #32 Dollar General Toyota.  Reed took a car that ran 10th-15th all night and pulled off a fifth place finish, thanks mostly to a great final restart with 40 laps to go.  He's only finished outside the top ten five times this year.

3 DRIVERS WHO WANT A DO-OVER

-Clint Bowyer, #21 Zaxby's Real Chicken Chevy.  Thanks to fresh tires, Clint had been running down the leader when he ran over the lapped car of Brian Scott, bringing out the caution.  The #21 team was out of sticker tires, so Clint was forced to race on used tires.  Had the caution not come out, Clint likely would have won the race.

-Brian Scott, #11 BigSpot.com Toyota.  First Brian is forced to the garage with a ruptured oil line.  Then he gets spun by the third place car.  Bad night, 38th place.

-Tayler Malsam, #10 Iron Horse Jeans Toyota.  If this kid wants to progress in NASCAR, he's going to have to perform better.  An average finish of 21.9 won't cut it.

Next race, the Dover 200 at Dover International Speedway.  Broadcast live on ESPN2 Saturday, September 25th at 3:30 pm/et.

(Photos by Getty Images)