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| November 21, 2004 -- The community cares section of RacingWest has long been a place to share our thoughts, express our wishes and pray together. As the Southwest and Northwest Tours come to the end of an era, we have decided to give them a place in the Community Cares Section.
Leave your thoughts and hopes for the future. Share your thoughts and feelings about NASCAR's new realignment of the NW/SW Tours. Will your team follow the complete series? How will the financial requirements affect you? How will you benefit?
With the two series combining, the stats of both will cease. Twenty years of history in the making will be stopped. Racing will go on, but some tracks, some teams, some businesses, some media some fans and some of your own officials will be gone.
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NW & SW Tour Updates - 12/28/2005 - 2006 Final Season for Tour
Last year at this time we started leaving our thoughts and prayers for the Tour. Now NASCAR has distribued a release stating:
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.: More
.: Community Cares Index- Duane Drummond Phoenix, Az.
What the hell is wrong with you NASCAR!! WOW! "biggest mistake that Nascar has ever made" - washington
don't bring your nascar to washington. i won't go! - SW Series Team
Well, Mr. Hawk, I do not see a 2006 SW Series Schedule posted anywhere as promised. Did I miss it somewhere? - LET'S GET REAL
TOO BAD THIS WEBSITE HAS TO POST SUCH GARBAGE FROM NASCAR INSTEAD OF FOCUSING ON THE REAL TALENT, A WEBSITE TO SPOTLIGHT THE DRIVERS. - SW Participant
Don't worry NASCAR and Don Hawk, your newly announced revised divisions will soon dry up also due to the additional costs to travel and participate in these events. Also the lack of or minimal televised coverage and series promotion that NASCAR has seemed to avoid with the SW Series over the past several years will seal the fate of racing on the west coast.
MO MONEY, MO MONEY, MO MONEY in NASCAR's pockets, that's the bottom line. - John Dunlap
I dont see the logic in this either. At Irwindale, you pay 30-35 bucks for a 150 lap race with 12-14 cars (GNW), and for $20 you can see over 30 cars run in a 125 lap SWT race. Now explain how the Elite series is costing more, but there are more cars, and the purse money can be less? The first GNW race at IS was a 300 lapper, now we are down to 125-150, the same that the SLM and SWT's run. I think NASCAR is going to shoot themselves in the foot on this one. THE LOCAL SHORTTRACKS ARE THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF NASCAR! Why do they keep punishing them? First the CTS, which ran at places like Saugus Speedway, Mesa Marin, Evergreen, Stockton 99, etc, now they are at Talladega and Daytona, and now they are just going to eliminate one of the best divisions around! - chris
bring back the northwest series - TOURING FAN
SOME OF THE BIGGEST NAMES IN NASCAR HAVE BEEN FOUND IN THESE SMALL TOURING DEVISIONS.TAKE THE TOP TEN DRIVERS IN THE GRAND NATINAL DEVISION AND THE TOP TEN IN THE TOURING DEVISION LET THEM RACE AND THEN BASE YOUR DECISION OF OF THAT OUTCOME IM SURE THAT WE WOULD STILL HAVE ARE TOURING DEVISIONS - Zero Man
Maybe SRL will grow into a better deal with TV, which is the key here,hopefully Ripper can win the last Championship. - was a fan of nascar
I am a big nascar fan but how dumb can they be this is the best div. I have ever seen and I got to say F.U. nascar. - Bruce Bachman
Nascar lied to us on this one.I will never believe another of there lies. - 2004 COMMENTS BELOW THIS LINE
Comments below are November 2004. Comments above are December 2005 and newer. - Kevin Griggs
I am a Northwest team owner and have had the challenge of raising corporate money to back my team. Where is our tv coverage? If Nascar wants a bigger appearance in the Northwest then it is up to them to help deliver. We definately have the fans and talent for it. - 2old2race
tv money is the answer. feeder divisions need more respect$$$travel money per mile,live broadcast=sucess - steve f
The NW suffers from a problem bigger than Nascar's greed. The owners/promoters of the tracks thoughout the northwest wouldn't need Nascars touring "Heros" if they would recognize that on any given weekend there are about 10 tracks within a days tow of each other running their own late model shows with 10 to 15 cars in each. It's the promoter attitudes about working with other tracks that limits this type of racing here. A well policed late model series in conjunction with support from all the regional promoters would put Nascar out of business in the NW both in terms of car count & prize money that could be offered. - nick smith @ nbs motorsports
nascar officials and marketing "geniuses' have outdone themselves this time, they touted their series as elite touring divisions, the only thing elite is the huge mistake of the merger, s r l here we come - MACK
BAD DEAL!!!!!! WHAT A MISTAKE!!!!!!!!!!!
Onwers send in your money to keep your number only! Crew members don't send in a dime to show asscar your anger. If you want to race you can pay for it at the track. Make asscars pockets a little lighter!!!
Thats the smack from the Mack!!!!!!!!!! - geezer
Whatever happens, most of us will still follow racing, but it would be a thrill to see something more affordable and 30-35 teams show up for qualifying every race. Thanks to all the teams, sponsers, drivers and owners that put on great shows . . .Please NASCAR don't kill this level, we all need heros and these are ours!! - ? guess we will see soon
Seems to me that the TOUR or TOURS are still here. The just aren't called NASCAR. SRL makes up the SW, LMCS and RMCS make up the NW. RMCS and SRL seem almost aligned on their rules as it allows current NASCAR tour legal cars to compete. If the LMCS could get in line it would be all good. The money those divisions run for is different all the way around and we all know it's not 35 or 40k, but the tour(s) is still there. The ELITE SERIES will be just that, "elite". Good Luck to all which ever way you go. - why?
This just sucks. Now there will be fewer competitors - NASCAR MATH
There is a definite problem with car count and attendance, but this is NOT the answer. I like to call it NASCAR math. When NASCARlooks at the series they see that about 15 teams have competed in all of the events wheather it be the NW, SW(maybe more for you guys), MW, or SE. They think that if they combine the NW and SW as well as the SE and MW that they willl then have full fields of 30 cars. The error in thier reasoning comes from the fact that not all 15 teams can afford to do this(ie money, time, manpower)probably half of the teams in both series will say "screw this". They will still have short fields. Furthermore teams that have cars to compete in the tour races when they are close buy are not going to travel that far, And lets face it the will not keep thier cars if the closest race is now a four to five hour drive. I don't know what the answer is, but this is definately not it. They need to give back to the racers. If they want to save us money Reduce the fee for crew licenses. When they have 1 or 2 cars more than they were going to start, start them any way. Don't send one guy packing when he drove that far. Give us some incentives. The Sunocco Super Series has tons of incentives. They award products from manufacuters to different finishing positions. Give us someting to sell, Television, xm radio coverage of races a 30 tv show covering highlights from all nascar regional races. Finally get us on more big tracks inconjunction with trucks, busch, or cup. Just give us some more incentive to spend our money in that series. Another answer would be to promote the series more. Nascar leaves this up to the individual tracks. They can't afford it. By the time the spend the money to get the tour there the is nothing left for promotion. If NASCAR is going to charge the tracks as much as ther are then they need to treat it like a franchise and spens smoe of that money promoting races. Much like the parent company of a franchise does. If you put butts in the stands these problems will take care of themselves. The tracks will all want races, nascar will make some money, they will be able to pay the teams more for each event. more pay means more cars. It is not that hard when you take a step back and look at the whole picture. NASCAR needs to take the them to work with the teams and promotors to come up with a solution that will work for everyone. - chris
time for a short track series with weekly late models like the rest back east!!!??!! - Rick
Go To SRL, We are more like Family. - Tony
I'm a fan in northern ca and here's my take. First, NASCAR is a great org, and let's face it, if your into motorsports, NASCAR is the place you wanna be in at any level. About 10 years ago, our track and alot others up in northern ca, were nascar affliated. It was good, even had the tour at our track when drivers like Ron Hornaday, Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch running with the SW tour. The racing was great, but from the having been on both sides of the fence (as a pit guy and fan) the tour was just ot expensive to bring back, let alone trying to a make a single event as a driver/owner. Alot of good late models drivers eventually had to sell their stuff and soon became fans themselves because the lack of late model interest. I know my friend I pitted for, ran a few "TOUR" events, but the distances from track to track are so grueling. Add more money to the purse, make "universal" rules for all late model series and maybe late model & late model tour racing might have a chance. - Happy Thanksgiving!
I want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. We are all fierce competitors, but I am thankful to be involved in a sport where family values always come first. I am thankful I had such a wonderful, hardworking team. I am thankful I had a great car builder that allowed me to race up front. I am thankful I had a great engine builder who's engines never blew up. I am thankful for Nascar, who gives us the opportunity to do what we love to do. I am thankful for my sponsors who have allowed me to spend their money. I am thankful to my friends and family for their unconditional support. Now you'll all have to excuse me, after all that brown nosing, I have to go wash my nose! Have a great Thanksgiving everyone! - HEY NASCAR
NASCAR should INCREASE THE PURSES for the MW, SW, NW and SE race teams as these "grassroot" series are the only racing that some fans get to attend since it costs toooooooo much to go to some of the Cup and Busch races for some families. Also, get some TV COVERAGE for the teams so that they can continue to race at these tracks for the fans. - I just don't get it..
Rumors like this have been talked about for a few years now. Is this for sure? If it is, I just don't get it. Apparently the powers that be don't get it either. In the four Elite divisions, car counts have sagged in three of them. The SW tour still had good car counts. So what is the answer? Let's make this even more expensive to do. Many Elite division teams know that their engines cost nearly the same as a Busch or Truck engine, their hotel rooms cost the same, their meals cost the same, the fuel for the transporter costs the same, and their fees and licenses are the same. But, if a you win a Busch race, you've won more than an entire purse for an Elite division race. If they think this will work they will have to pay between 150-200K purses for each race and be on TV because even a small purse increase won't be enough in the long run. Engine costs on the 9:1 have gotten way out-of-hand. The parent organization should be looking at cost reduction as the answer and primarily in those 30-40K engines. - Better Early Than Late
Some have made comments that it's only speculation and we shouldn't be complaining yet, but I disagree. Better to complain now and hopefully they will listen before making a decision. Once an official decision has been made, then it will be too late to complain and our complaints it won't do any good. Everyone that disagrees with combining the Northwest/Southwest, needs to speak now and speak loud to try and prevent it from happening. Just possibly if Nascar see's how many people are against it, maybe they will listen. Call, write or E-mail Nascar, your racing directors, series promoters and let them know how you feel. It may actually work! - Bruce Mooney
I e-mail Nascar regional racing and this is the response that i got!
Hello Bruce,
We have not heard any rumors regarding your question. If we do hear anything we will post any news on our web site.
Thank you,
Nascarregionalracing.com - Jumping to Conclusions?
“I still havent seen anything except speculation that this will happen. did I miss something? Were is the official anouncement? Dont start complaining until it happens”
This can’t be a voice of reason amongst the lunacy that occurs on Internet sites such as this. Nowhere, to my knowledge has there been an “official” announcement. Speculation and rumor at this point, the staple of the Internet and fostered so very well by this site. When and if the “official” announcement comes then racers, fans, crews members, Internet sites and sanctioning bodies can take what they feel are appropriate actions. Isn’t freedom wonderful? And as always NASCAR will do what it will do - an Observer
I still havent seen anything except speculation that this will happen. did I miss something? Were is the official anouncement? Dont start complaining until it happens - ASA Is Good
ASA Has an awsome thing going, if it was not to far to travel there is not a coubt I would go that direction. How nice would it be to run a 14,000 dollar motor 20-40 races. - FAN2
MAYBE YOU CAN HELP THEM WITH THEIR TRAVEL EXPENSE'S, ! THERE IS GOOD EQUIPMENT AND GOOD DRIVERS FROM ALL OVER THE NORTH WEST BUT TODAYS ECONOMY WON'T LET SOME TEAMS TRAVEL - concerned fan
I think everyone is missing the point. We have lost the opportunity to see the best teams race together in a somewhat organized set of rules. LMCS, RMCS isn't the answer. Racers have this equipment, don't waste it. In the NW our top dogs were the NW Series. We have no cup race. If one team staggered off to the local show, and one team to the LMCS, and one team to the new elite series, our racing becomes diluted. Our great racing base is destroyed. I go to the races to see our local stars. Harding, Evans, Lewis, the Jefferson brothers, Benedetti, Bender, Sweatman, Bennett, Riehl, Howard. The future was building new stars for the NW. Where will I see that group race together ever again? - GARY OWEN
VERY INTERESTING. SOUNDS LIKE THE DEATH OF THE NW TOUR. BUT BASED ON RECENT CAR COUNTS AND TRACK TURN OUT - THAT MAY HAVE ALREADY HAPPENED!!! LOCAL TRACKS AND FANS SHOULD LIKE THIS HOWEVER. ONCE A RACER - ALWAYS A RACER. NOW WE JUST FIND ANOTHER PLACE TO PLAY. MAYBE SOMEWHERE THE FANS AND RACERS CAN AFFORD. WE LIVE IN WYOMING AND RACE LATE MODELS IN DENVER, CHEYENNE AND SLC. FULL HOUSES EVERY WEEKEND (CARS AND FANS). PROMOTERS WHO MEET YOU AT THE GATE WITH A "THANKS FOR COMING." VERY INTERESTING INDEED - GO. - cam
NASCAR will end up with 20 -25 cars that will compete at all of these races, then pat themselves on the back and say "You see we did the right thing by combining the 2 series. They were dying and we kept them alive!" - Rock n Roll
Money Money Money.... - Hank T
NASCAR doesn't care about anything but the $$$, they will build another superspeedway somewhere and they will make big bucks. They could care less about the Elite Series and their puny $100,000 cars. They want multimillionaires to step up and run the Nextel Cup. They make millions on one race, why would they care about a few thousand at some local track. Bristol will be the next track to shut down in place of a 2 1/2 mile copy of all the others. Then NASCAR will have all big tracks, big money, and they won't feel guilty at all about all the loyal local racers that are shoved aside. Thet will laugh all the way to the bank. - Rich
I have to agree with alot of the other postings,this is bad idea. First, if they do combine the 2 series, how exactly are they going to get a good car count? In addition to that the drivers in the series would have to run at about 20 different tracks, across 5 or more states. I hope the purses get bigger too, because all that traveling is gonna cost alot of money. And for you other late model driver/owners, to hell with nascar. Heck, run a late model sportsman with a 4 bl and good set of hoosiers and have some fun. I know I do and I've been competitive. Look at the SRL series, fine by my standards and growing too. - Steve Casteel
Obviously the winner in a change like this is the smaller up and coming series. RMCS,LMCS ,SRL, and others will now be more attractive to some bigger "names" who will be looking for new playgrounds for thier Tour Cars. I honestly believe that these series are more in tune with the drivers then what NASCAR has been. Seems to me drivers want to have fun and not go broke doing it. I know with the RMCS full fields were seen at their first year of racing. Awesome series with TALENTED DRIVERS!!!
www.rockymountainchallengeseries.com - Mike
BAD IDEA. - Mike
BAD IDEA. - ASA RACING?
If Nascar decides to pulls this rediculous stunt and combine the series, maybe the teams should contact ASA and see if they are willing to open up a couple more divisions on the west coast. One for the Northwest and one for the Southwest. I have no experience with ASA, but I only hear much better things about ASA than I do Nascar and I'm the tracks would love to work with the ASA as I'm sure their sanctioning fees are much less than Nascar charges for a tour race, which is why the schedules have been cut from 20 races a few years ago to 13 or 14 races now, as the small tracks can't afford it. I know ASA purses are bigger. If ASA would do that and make the rules to allow for tour cars as they are, they'd have an instant hit. And I think most ASA races are televised, which would actually give the teams something to sell to a sponsor. Right now with the Tour, what can you offer a sponsor? What is your pitch to them. Please give me $300,000 so I can give you exposure to a whopping 3,000 fans at each of the 14 races. (42,000 fans total!). ASA or even the West series reaches 10 times that many fans with just one televised race! - Jeff Ford
If this is true, then it is truely sad. As an LMCS driver- owner, it is to bad that Nascar feels that they need to combine the two northwest & southwest series to have a good series. They have now eliminated just about every team in the northwest and the southwest from ever competing on a full schedule. There is no way that most teams can afford traveling to all of these venues, much less get the time off. They will never hear of my name in their series, seeing how I am a small business owner who would have loved to some day to be able to afford to move out of the latemodel division into the Elite Series. Even if I had the money to run their new schedule, there is no way I could take off the time from my business to race. Unless this is untrue I'm sure Nascar will only hear more of the same from other racers. Hope it is not. But maybe Nascar doesn't want anything to do with grass-roots racing. Seeing's how they can fillup stadium race tracks with 200,000 fans and get corporations to spend all their advertising dollars at the top series and forget about us little guys. It's just a hobby anyways, I guess. - Seymore
You can see it at the tracks. The officials think that the NW tour is the frickin Nextel Cup. They make you push through tech 3 and 4 times just because the bumper on your car is sagging 3/8". People show up to race and have a good time. Everyone on our team has a regular full time job. There are no full time employees on our race car. We all show up and work from 5 or 6 to the very late night hours. We don't show up to the track to pestered about something so stupid. The demise of the NW tour has been it's officials and the suits in charge. With the combined series our team will not be participating due to the increased costs of travel. What exactly are you trying to accomplish by combining these two series?What else is there to say after 20 years of hard work by alot of people other than thank you NASCAR for another ignorant decision. - Dave Grayson/Freelancers Media Services
I wonder if NASCAR did some serious study on how teams are supposed to handle the added high cost of travelling to the northwest and vice versa? I wonder if Davey Hamiliton is watching all of this with a smile on his face? It could turn out to be the best thing that has happened to the SRL WildWest Shootout. - Bruce Mooney
Just look in the classifieds at all the tour cars for sale. This should be some kind of hint as to what is going to happen - Concerned Fan
The more I read and the more I think about it the less I like it. In concept would be a great idea to see all the best of the west. But as said many times allready who can afford this with today's economy. - Rick G
LMCS is the way to go for WA, ID, and MT racers. The last tour race at Kalispell only had 16 cars anyway. Go LMCS - Loyal Fan
what about the fans????????we can"t afford to travel like that....... :( - Loyal Fan
what about the fans????????we can"t afford to travel like that....... :( - A DRIVERS MOM
I COULD HAVE MADE A LOT BETTER DECISION FOR THE TOUR RACES WITH A LOT LESS MONEY THAN THEY PROBABLY PAID TO THE JERK THAT MADE THIS ONE. THEY WANT GOOD NASCAR RACES NOT WITH THIS KIND OF DECISION. HOW MANY OF THE GUYS THAT SPONSER THEIR OWN RACE CAR CAN AFFORD TO TRAVEL TO ALL THESE PLACES SO FAR AWAY ESPECIALLY IF THEY HOLD DOWN JOBS. WHAT A JOKE!!!! PEOPLE KEEP SAYING WAIT AND SEE WELL I DON'T SEE MUCH WAITING FORIF ALL THIS IS OFFICAIL, i GUESS WE WAIT FOR A BIG VOID IN THE REGULAR TOUR RACES OR WHAT EVER THEY WANT TO CALL IT AND MORE IN LOCAL TRAK RACING WITH THE GUYS STAYING AT THEIR HOME TRACKS AND JUST RACING ONCE IN A WHILE TO KEEP IT IN THEIR BLOOD. mind you i could be wrong and have been a lot but that is just my view. - Mike S
At the very least I would hope Nascar lets the series stand the way they are for a year after they make the announcement. That would at least let teams work on sponsership and get their finances in order. Probably asking too much though. - fannw
why doesnt nascar do what the hooters procup series do with a joint and separate points races for both divisions - dj
It's time to split away from NASCAR! When you get a group together that has, as much power as they think they have it gets ugly for everyone involved. When NASCAR can suspend a spotter because of something he said two days prior at another race, what's with that? What happened to FREEDOM OF SPEECH? Or is this a Communist group dictating what you can & cannot say, what words are except able and which are not. These people have gotten out of control. It's time for a wise investor to start a series on the West Coast that will get back to basic STOCK CAR RACING!
Let's face it wise investor, there's money to be made out there. Look what NASCAR has been able to do, with the hard work of owner-drivers from the old days. If something works, copy it and make it work for you! - JG
While there are pleanty of late model venues to have fun at, this is a blow to those individuals looking to establish a career in late model racing. Unfortunately this move renders thousands of dollars worth of equipment and motors useless for teams wanting to compete full time in upper-level series but can't afford to now that the ED will be spread across such a large geographical region. Sponsors go hand in hand with that as already mentioned several times in latter posts.
The best decision for those looking for a career has become even more pronounced than it already was: Move back east/south. Sponsorships are more abundant and the series' seems to be taken care of a little bit. The northwest/west is getting neglected which is a little surprising with the pending Cup track for Washington State.
Good luck to all the racers who have been affected! - Rock
It looks like SRL for us. And SRL has a new series sponsor, that is making the purse more money for all the cars top to bottom, more of the money to go to the bottom. - Rock
It looks like SRL for us. And SRL has a new series sponsor, that is making the purse more money for all the cars top to bottom, more of the money to go to the bottom. - Rock
It looks like SRL for us. And SRL has a new series sponsor, that is making the purse more money for all the cars top to bottom, more of the money to go to the bottom. - SWT Owner
I, as a SWT owner find this to be amasing. The touring divisions are supposed to be training field for the "BIG Show" however just look at where the big teams are recruiting from. The recently concluded Rousch test selected a completely unknown driver from the ASA (probably because daddy had money) instead of one of the Nascar regulars such as Gilliland or Vidovich. Clearly Nascar has no loyalty to there touring series. Most all drivers moving up come from either USAC, ARCA, ASA, etc. Teams like mine are here to try to showcase our young drivers talents in the hopes that they will get a legitimate shot to move up. We have supported Nascar for years, however, not one official from Nascar has asked us what we think. I suspect that they don't really care which is a shame as we are the backbone of Nascar. I know that this team which has been to all but one race for the last seven years will not be able to travel to several races that are projected for the up coming season. It will be a shame when the West Tour championship will be determined by a diluted field of cars which will be only the top hand full which can afford to attend all events. - RMCS Fan
Does this mean Chris Schrade can't spin out trying to make the race at twin - RACER55
THE LAST TIME I WATCHED A ELITE SERIES RACE AT TWIN FALLS IDAHO IT WAS A JOKE, THE ROCKY MOUNTIAN CHALLENGE SERIES ALWAYS HAD 25 TO 30 CAR'S BECAUSE IT IS AFFORDABLE TO RUN ,YOU DON'T HAVE TO HAVE 30,000 DOLLAR MOTORS TO BE COMPEITIVE - hoopjack
Ain't no big thing! This was coming for a long time- no more tour in the nw, then the nascar faithful will run the weekly racing series-right- i don't think so, how many tracks in the nw are still affiliated with nascar for the weekly series, ain't looked lately but not many, what's it called in the business world when this happens- oh yea- we've been downsized or outsourced or basically the people that have invested their time,money and tremendous amounts of effort just got hosed!
But on the bright side, we the racer/fan will bounce back and find another arena to ply our trade and it will probably be just as much or more fun than it has been for the last 19 years. I know i'm certainly going to have fun, how about you? - Disappointed ( but not suprised )
Nascar has always ignored local racers and smaller touring series. Where do they think the future stars of the Nextel Series come from??
Apparently they have never heard the expression Don't bite the hand that feeds you. It will take several years for them to realize what a mistake this is, and when they do it will be too late to fix it. - RMCS DRIVER
Many could not afford to ru the ELITE series as it was, NASCAR just took the costs to another level- GO ROCKY MOUNTAIN CHALLENGE SERIES.com!!!! - Dennis Bennett
Why does`t NASCAR take the money from Team and driver fines (penalties for Cursing, and ect) and give it to the touring series? Where does that money go? There is thousands and thousand of dollars in fines and penalties issued to teams througout all NASCAR`s series. This changes our plans for 2005, planned on making our rookie run we will never find sponsorship to run a combined series especially as a rookie team - jon
Who knows, Maybe NASCAR might bring alot of money to the table. As a spectator, I think it will be cool to see both series together. If the money is there then the racers will be there, Lets hope for some good news from them.. - Elite Southwest Series participant
NASCAR already has an agenda to merge the four Elite divisions into two divisions. It will be pitting the “east against the west”. In some areas this will be a good thing and others still debate it’s a bad idea.
At any rate, NASCAR needs to step up to the plate and promote these series more and/or better and also break out the checkbook and guarantee televised coverage so that the teams can generate the corporate backing for the ever increasing need of funding each year to participate in the Elite series, let alone all forms of racing.
Bottom line, NASCAR is going to do the merge no matter what opinions are, so NASCAR needs to promote the Elite series better with additional advertising and larger purses so that the Elite series doesn’t fall off the deep end and continues to be a resource for up-and-coming young talent in the NASCAR Cup, Busch and Truck divisions. - Matt Jackson
What Nascar is missing here is it's not the cost of the race it's self, it's the traveling expences & time away from work, this is the hardest part on all the teams, the time traveling, expence of traveling & most of the crew members have jobs and can't afford to take all that time off work, even the big money teams have crew members that work regular jobs. We all love the sport & Nascar has done a lot, but what they need to do is put there efferts in promoting these series (idividually) giving us the exposure TV, media, so we have the opportunities to obtain good sponsors. - Is This A Joke
Elite Fan, you have got to be kidding. How much did NASCAR pay you to say that??? - CHET WARD
NASCAR HAS GOTTEN TO BIG TO CARE ABOUT THE SMALL FUNED TEAM'S THE LMCS AND ROCKY MOUNTIAN CHALLENGE SERIES WILL GROW FROM THIS, AND NASCAR WILL WONDER WHAT HAPPENED !! - Elite Fan
This is great news! NASCAR offers some of the best racing in the Americas and now the racing will be even bigger and better! NASCAR has out performed yet again! This decision is on the edge of becoming reality. Wait and see what else NASCAR offers. Bigger things are yet to be shared! NASCAR has listened and is about to deliver! I feel so lucky to be a fan of NASCAR! - Goetz
They better promote all the races with tv times - karen
Not to second guess anyone, but is this a for sure thing or something that is still being discussed?! If it is true, it's really sad for ALOT of people. - Gary
Where did you read this? Is it on NASCAR.COM? - LaMoure
As history would have it every change is subject to scrutiny and judgement almost each time the end result is satisfactory for the majority. I am out with a verdict on this topic, I see negatives and gains Ive also seen the golden touch Nascar has and hope they apply the same touch to this potential change.
Darrell - 2L82RACE
I agree with the comment below. Nascar needs to inform the drivers what is going on. With such a big change anticipated by combining the series and the first race just a few weeks away, how does Nascar expect these teams to get funding to cover all the added costs when a schedule still has not been released, or even a guestimate of one. Most teams base their budget on the previous years schedule since Nascar is always so late in getting a schedule done, but if there really is going to be this big of a change and that much more travel, teams that thought they were running the whole season, will be rudely awaken to the fact that the money they got for the season won't even come close and teams will probably have to refund the sponsorship money because they won't be able to meet their commitment of running the whole schedule and won't have time to go after additional sponsorship to cover the signficantly higher cost, all because Nascar decides to release the schedule after it is "too late to race" and get adequate funding. - Becky
I hope Don Hawk and the rest of the people responsible for this terrible move, read all these comments. These are coming from several sides of the situation. The Drivers, sponsors, fans and crew members. I have not seen one positive comment yet and I dont plan on seeing any. I was recently at the All-Star showdown and talked to many people Ive met through the years from the SW and Grand National divisions and every single person I asked said that this would be a bad move? Why? Because they could not afford it. Even the higher budget teams responded this way. One team was based out of Bakersfield and the mother of the driver said that they would not be able to afford to run it due to all the costs of traveling and they are a higher budgeted team. Nascar says they will up the purse, but they plan on doing that by charging the tracks more. They couldnt afford the sanctioning fee before, how will they afford $20,000 more? Instead of eliminating the NW Series, which is what this will be doing, why dont you Don Hawk and Nascar work with what you've got. Why take good people who have invested a lot of time and money and faith into these series and just kick them to the curb? They dont deserve this. To a lot of guys in the NW/SW this is all they have. This is their Nextel Cup. Did you ever think about calling the teams and informing them of what you plan to do? How long do you plan on waiting? Everyone involved deserves to know, you owe them that much. - bob smith
THE NW SERIES AND THE LMCS SHOULD COMBINE THERE RULES AND TELL NASCAR TO BUZZ OFF - MIKE
Well FOLKS, Lets see... Take a Series where for the most part any competive team ends the year upside down and for what, the love of Racing... Let's see, at least 2 new motors $60-80K, Price of Car, Car Hauler, travel expenses and not to mention Tires. Add additional parts like a trans or Diff and pow Alice, the cost keep adding up. OK, 200K maybe just to get in for a full season. Do not forget, if you make the grade to go to the Toyota AllStar then throw in somemore T&E and yes a Fresh 40K motor. Well, we all know finding a sponsor to kick in 25K is hard enough so unless Nascar is going to take it up about 10 fold in payouts then the current recipe for failure is almost a guarantee. Like someone else mentioned, looks like more LOCALS then regulars since some might say that enough is enough. I bet some of the Quality Teams might jump to Grand National since the payouts are greater or just move back to their local events since some tracks are very competitive and when you do the math you end up with less overall expenses and payouts that are about equal. Anyway...... Just my thoughts - Rich Palmer
NASCAR has killed the Northwest off finally. The support of race teams for the elite division has continually dwindled to the point of no NW businesses sponsoring race teams and no television coverage. But they want you to spend your tax dollars to build their new track in Marysville Wa. Seems like Nascar only wants what is in their best interest, no tthe fans or race teams. There is only a couple of teams financally able to compete the entire season now. - Nick
Unless I drive for someone else who's willing to do all that travel, I know my tour career just ended because with the limited budget I've always been on, there's no way I can afford all the added travel expense. I could barely make Colorado once a year. I will miss the Southwest Series, it was a great series. Unfortunately Nascar won't notice a thing. You'll still have 15 or so well funded teams run the whole season and the remainder of the field will still be filled by locals for each track, so there will still probably be 30+ cars at each race and that will make Nascar think everything is great and the 15 or 20 limited budget teams from the Northwest and Southwest series that worked their butts off to run a full season, will have to find something else to do if they want to compete for points in a full season. - Matthew Sullivan
Good one NASCAR. Just kill off everything we have in the west right? I wonder how these teams and drivers will afford to drive from Washington to California over to Colorado and back down to Arizona? Will you be footing the bill for all these teams? I doubt it, all the money you grab from good folks has to go to Brian's secret underground pot growing operation, which is what he and everyone in NASCAR seems to be smoking these days.
Thanks for killing stock car racing NASCAR. - Brett
Someone was paid to make these decisions? NASCAR will regret what they will have done to themselves! - Laurie Lindville
It's a sad day. What a way to respect the fans that have followed these series! - sponsor
Not all companies do business in all states and are not able to write off money spent in other states for advertising. when they see the new schedule they say sorry can't help. fewer sponsors mean fewer cars and that means no series - The end of a fan to NASCAR
Its to bad that NASCAR is only concerned with its cup series and not with the "farm system" series. The southwest series just had one of its former stars win the biggest prize in NASCAR. How does NASCAR repay the "farm system" series? Lets make you travel farther for less money, that way we can eliminate the dreams of small budget teams. Also, since the tracks MIGHT increase the purse to these races the fans will feel the change with having to pay Nextel Cup admission prices (some SW races are already $30, what next $50?). Then the fans will disappear and the SW/NW series will disappear. - jspeed
brian france and mike helton are morons!!!! - Jim Alleman C.P.T.A.
This is a big mistake by Nascar it will make for bad news in the northwest for the race fans that fllow tour racing. - David
They need to raise the purse anyway, this will not work. Give budgeted teams a chance. - me
Is this official? - Concerned Fan
Kurt Busch won over $5,000,000 (in addition to regular prize money each race) for winning the Cup Championship. NASCAR can't you filter some of that money down to the Elite Division? You are killing such a great competitive group of drivers. - Mike S
Bad move. Putting low budget teams out in the cold and robbing many fans that live around some of the tracks that inevitablely will lose the tour, of enjoying tour racing. Nascar is moving lickity split away from it's roots. - homie
rocky mountian challenge series is the future! - janet
Dear NASCAR: Reading the 4 posts before mine I was thinking what you may see here is a glimpse into the things to come. NASCAR is not wrong all the time. We will have to wait and see what others say. This reminds me of Charles Dickens' Christmas Carol except instead of looking into Christmas Future; we are looking into the future of the Elite. - fred
THIS WILL MAKE IT SO ONLY A FEW OF THE BEST NW TEAMS WILL COMPETE EVERY WEEK - joe
Here we come SRL - Bruce Mooney
The Lmcs in WA ant the SRL in Cal. Are looking real good right nowW this is the biggest mistake that Nascar has ever made! - Bill Shaw
I think this is one of the biggest mistakes that they (Nascar) could have made. With no TV package and further travelling distances and not much of an increase in prize money. Who would want to do this?
When and where is the funeral for the 2 series? - rhonda martinich
booooooooooooooooooooooooo
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