It's an idea the sport has had in the back of its collective mind for many years - the idea that the Winston Cup Series needs to be split into two divisions to cover more racetracks and more race teams. Now it's getting more attention with more Winston Cup teams and the problem of speedway fratricide. The quasi-official debut of the idea was the late 1990s when T. Wayne Robertson first proposed a divisional structure for Winston Cup racing, but rumors of consideration of a divisional structure date back well before that - I remember the rumor circulating among Busch North competitors around 1991.
How might a divisional structure work? Ostensibly it would involve an East-West split with the present Chase format eventually becoming a true playoff format.
While presently there seems little enthusiasm for a divisional format, one has to admit it does address some of the sport's more pressing issues - the fact that too many teams are being stiffarmed by the sport's qualifying format and the sport has sacrificed racetracks ostenibly to make room for bigger markets yet has accomplished nothing in that regard. Certainly addressing these issues is of great importance to the sport.
One, though, has to wonder if a divisional structure is the way to go.
1 comment:
An east/west division would be tough to imagine when you consider the preponderance of tracks in the east and south. A north/south division makes more sense in terms of actually dividing up the tracks into a split league. That north vs south format would even play well with much of the fan base as well, perhaps even consolodating support for smaller teams. Personally, though, I dread the marketing hype that the north vs south league split would create.
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