What was the most important NASCAR story of the year?

[smyler]

Now that the season is over, what do you think the biggest story of the year was in NASCAR?  There was a lot of attention given to Jr. going to HMS.  The COT became the standard and is now the car of today.  HMS has dominated the series this year by winning over half of the races.  So what do you think was the biggest or best story of the year?

[smyler]

After posting the question, I asked my wife what she thought and she said that the Dale Jr story was the biggest but the passing of Mr. France and Benny Parsons were the most important.  I still miss ole Benny.  I get chills just thinking how I'll never hear his voice or see his smiling face anymore.  Like him or otherwise, the passing of Mr. France was huge.  None of us would be posting on here if it wasn't for all the work he did to promote this sport.  He made racing the big deal that it is today.  God bless the families of these gentlemen.

[Chris]

I'm gonna say Toyota coming to Cup...
NOT because of the 'splash' they made this year... but sit and wait and see what impact they have in years to come. 
Then you'll know how big THIS year has been

[secretariat]

Rusty Wallace taking that 200 MPH motorcycle away from Steven. That kid would have crashed that thing before he got it out the driveway.

That was the best move of the year.

 

[Chris]

Not to get off topic of the thread...
But this Chase Austin kid...He was at our World Crown 250 held this weekend at Peach State SPeedway.  He's a heck of a talent.
I see Rusty Wallace has him signed to drive for him full time next season in the BGN series.
He ran a very strong race in what was a very tough field until getting caught up in 'the big one' about lap 135.
Had a 14 car pile up and he was in it.
In any event he showed he can drive, and wht Rusty hired him.
Comple story and run down at our site.
http://www.peachstspeedway.com/

[DotheDew88]

Wow I can't believe the birth of "Princess Gordon" wasn't a choice LOL

[highbank]

Jr is probably the biggest....the influx of open wheel guys would have also been a good line item.

[paulfan]

I would have to say that the influx of open wheel drivers to the series.  Juan P was an interesting anomily last year but who would have expected 4 more this year, plus the drivers they replaced.

Is Nacar really the Big Time?

I guess it would be 5 if you counted Speed in ARCA.

[Matt]

I'll go with the failed car of tomorrow experiment. In addition to being ugly the cars don't race well. The anticipated drafting and slingshot passes were not in evidence. The equalization between the big teams and the small teams was a miserable failure. The same two or three teams dominated. This years stock car races have by and large repeated a similar formula. Drivers cruise around in parade form until the last 25 laps. Then things get ugly. And TV ratings have tumbled as a result.

The bad news is the CoT is slated as the full time ride next season. It's bad right now but its going to get worse.

[czechmate25]

I think it depends on who you are while determining the most important story of the year:

If you are a driver, a crew chief or any other member of a team in the garage, the biggest story is the COT. 
-building new cars, learning the new cars and this year, switching back and forth from one car to the other

If you are a team owner (of an American team), the biggest story was Toyota coming in.
- with the amount of money Toyota started throwing around it forced team owners to take on outside investors just to  keep  up with the financial matters involved with running a 'competitive' race team

If you are a member of the media or live in a trailor park, the biggest story was the most overrated driver in the history of NASCAR leaving his daddy's company

If you are a up and coming driver looking for a shot at a ride in NASCAR, the biggest story was the influx of open wheel "superstars" coming over taking rides from deserving drivers, who now will have a harder time getting a shot.

If you are a fan interested solely in the competition standpoint, the Hendrick domination was the biggest story.
-winning over half the races says it all.

If you are a historian or have been around the sport for a long time, the passing of Bill France was the biggest story.

[James J.]

Well, thinking of what is the most IMPORTANT story of the year, and the COT isn't an option.

To me, the COT is probably the most IMPORTANT.
It effects everyone:

• Drivers. How how they drive the car and their safety in it.
• Crew Chiefs.  How they setup, tune and adjust the car before and during races.
• Team Owners.  The cost of current equipment becoming obsolete. The cost of getting new equipment. The cost of testing and developing the COT program.
• NASCAR corporate.  Scrutiny from media members, fans, sponsors, teams, drivers, etc. about how the car impacts them. 
• NASCAR as a sport.  Perception of the type of racing, TV viewers and attendance at races.
• Sponsors.  Stuck on a car that doesn't have it's hands on the COT program means less exposure for their investment.

Most everything else is just news, and not really all that important, far reaching, or having as big of an impact on the sport as the COT.
New drivers trying to break into the Cup level (regardless if their from open wheel or coming up through the ranks) will have a completely different car than what they're used to or can relate to.  Teams, like Hendrick, who have the COT program advanced along will have the ability to retain key drivers & sponsors, and attract new drivers & sponsors if they want to.   Drivers change teams often.  Just because the most popular driver switched teams really isn't all that important to the sport itself.  It's big for Dale, HMS, their fans and their haters.  And it's big for their sponsors there at HMS.  But it's not affecting all the other teams, fans, the perception of the sport, etc. on an important level. 
Same with Toyota.  Manufactures/Makes have come and gone.  There's been rumors of Ford & Chevy leaving.  It's really not all that important to the sport IMO.  Even more so with the COT.  Decals and motors.  Some fans simply have a strong positive or negative feelings about a Japanese company participating in the sport.  But when it comes down to it, it's not that important or far reaching as the COT.

[Chris]

you got a good argument there Sunkist