The National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) has two series, the Sprint Cup and the Nationwide Series. The Sprint Cup is where the stars race, and the Nationwide Series is where young drivers trying to get to the Cup race. At least that's the way NASCAR advertises it. But with Sprint Cup veteran, Elliott Sadler, leading the Nationwide Series standings, the Nationwide circuit isn't really what it's advertised as.
If the Nationwide Series was really the 'minor leagues' of stock car racing, then why are veteran drivers allowed to compete in it? During the 2012 season, only eight drivers racing in the Nationwide series are rookies, and that's out of 129 people who have made at least one start. The number of veteran drivers, or drivers that are currently racing in the Cup, that have made at least 10 starts in the Nationwide series is 11. The list includes the likes of Kevin Harvick, Kurt and Kyle Busch, Kasey Kahne, and Joe Nemechek. What kind of minor league system is that? Why are the Cup veterans able to make double the money on race weekends while young kids spend years in the Nationwide Series before getting a ride in the Cup? No other sport has a minor league system like that. You don't see Albert Pujols getting for the Angels and then go down and play a few Triple A games whenever he feels like it.
Besides drivers who are double dipping, there are a handful of drivers that have seen their day in the Sprint Cup sun fade away and now race in the Nationwide Series. The names of these drivers would be Mike Bliss, Mike and Kenny Wallace, and Jeff Green. Sadler can be included in this list as well as he has only raced one Cup race this year and hasn't a full Cup schedule since 2010. The point of having old men drive in the series that's supposed to be used for young drivers is unknown to me. If they can't get a Cup ride, then why take one away from a kid trying to make a name for him or herself? Why isn't their an age limit for the Nationwide series? If the veterans want to keep racing but aren't good enough to compete in the Cup, then why not create a senior circuit similar to what golf has? The senior circuit could run Friday night, and would probably attract a lot of older racing fans trying to relive the glory days.
To me, the Nationwide Series as it stands currently is not the minors to the Sprint Cup; instead, it is merely the B series. Like in European soccer where each league has two divisions and a relegation system to sees the worst A team drop to the B league and vice versa. In NASCAR, if you're good enough you race in the A series, the Sprint Cup, and if you're not you race in the B series, the Nationwide Series. This still doesn't explain why drivers are able to race in both series. I think it should be one or the other. That's like a company hiring one person to do two separate jobs and paying them two separate paychecks.
If NASCAR truly wants the Nationwide Series to be where all the young drivers start out, then it should eliminate current and former Cup drivers from the series. It only damages the future of the sport when you allow drivers like that to compete over the young kids. It is a disgrace that there are only eight rookie drivers, only three of them starting every race to date, in the Nationwide Series. There should be limits set that allows you to race in the Nationwide Series. They don't have to be anything crazy; for instance, Cup drivers can only race three full seasons in Nationwide and any season after that you can only race in no more than 20 races. This limit still allows veteran drivers the chance to race in Nationwide, but also gives the young drivers the opportunity to dominate the standings and get noticed. A rule for veteran drivers no longer able to get a Cup ride could be that they can only race half a schedule. This rule allows older drivers to still race but also keeps the races mainly about the younger drivers. The list of rules to make Nationwide more suitable for young drivers is endless, but I don't think NASCAR will make any in the near future. The series sold as the breeding ground for young drivers will remain a sham, NASCAR's Nationwide Sham.
References
http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/nationwide/story/_/id/8348443/elliot-sadler-not-returning-richard-childress-racing-2013
http://www.nascar.com/news/features/nwide.series.history/index.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nationwide_Series
http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2012/data/standings.html
http://www.nationwide.nascar.com/nationwide-series/races/standings/#cnnsort
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