Should Cup drivers race in NNS?

[just a fan]

I know this has been argued many times before but one of the post in the Edwards thread brought it back to mind for me. I would like to pose a few questions and see what the thoughts of the others on the board are.

 - Should FT Cup drivers be allowed to race in NNS?
 - If they don't race would you buy a ticket to a NNS event?
 - Could the field be filled without the cup drivers?
 

I personally think they should be alowed to race. The rules in every series say if you meet certain requirements and your car meets certain requirements you can race. Let them have at it.
If they did not race I think the level of competition would go down and I don't know that I would buy a ticket. I think the fact the best drivers in the sport are racing forces the other competitors to work harder and get better.
I am not sure the fields would be full without the Cup guys. I don't see the Cup teams fielding a NNS team that is not a benefit to the Cup program. Right now they put them together to give the drivers seat time and help develop crew members.

Just my thoughts.

[Fathead]

No
Yes
Yes

[KurtBuschFan]

Yes--but limit the number of races and no points
Yes
Yes

[SMOKEN14]

NO-Only because all the top rides are filled with cup drivers
YES
YES

[Fathead]

If you are in the top 35 of the Cup Series, you don't get to race in a lower series (I might make an exception for a team that you own).   If you are in the top 30 of the Nationwide Series, you don't get to race in the Truck Series.

[FS_Amy]

Yes, but only a certain number of races a year and no points, prize money awarded to NNS regulars first, then backmarker money to Cup guys, regardless of finish
Hell, YES!-I rarely, if ever buy NNS tickets now, it's not worth paying to see my driver finish 15th to a bunch of Cup guys in more expensive equipment, but I sure as heck would go to races if the Cup guys WEREN'T there!
Yes, because the teams on limited budget would be able to be competitive again with the Cup guys out of the way and reall NNS guys getting the sponsors instead.

[CodeBlueEMT]

 - Should FT Cup drivers be allowed to race in NNS?    HELL NO !!! Did Michael Jordan leave the NBA to play college basketball on weekends?

 - If they don't race would you buy a ticket to a NNS event?   ABSOLUTELY !!! This really irks me. Keep your butt at home if you're such a name/sponsor/pretty color type of fan.
 
 - Could the field be filled without the cup drivers?   THE "FIELD" WOULD BE FILLED, AND WE'D SEE WHAT RACING IN THIS SERIES WAS MEANT TO BE.
 

[HUDSON HORNET]

1. With certain restrictions.

2. Absolutely.

3. Probably.

[DougS]

Claim Jumpers? YES 10 races max

Buy a Nationwide ticket? not on your life It's merchandise trailer time during the NNS race

Field filled - Of course NASCAR will not let ANYTHING keep them from getting all thier TV contract money.

Will the racing be better? No but I think we'll see better rivalries move to the NSCS. For a little while all the hype was who was going to out do who between Dale Jr and Matt Kenseth. Of course Matt silenced all that hype. I'd bet jr would trade both of his NNS titles for just one cup title (and so would NASCAR).

[Busch Babe 899]

I'll cheer for Carl to go for a championship in any series he wants to, whether he's full-time Cup or not. Prior to Carl running NW full-time, I didn't watch it full-time...only when Mark chose to run one.

That being said, if NASCAR said tomorrow "Full-time Cup drivers can't run for a NW or Truck championship, will receive no points" I'd cheer for Carl to win the races he DID run.....because he does it because he loves to race, and win.

[HUDSON HORNET]

I'll cheer for Carl to go for a championship in any series he wants to, whether he's full-time Cup or not. Prior to Carl running NW full-time, I didn't watch it full-time...only when Mark chose to run one.

That being said, if NASCAR said tomorrow "Full-time Cup drivers can't run for a NW or Truck championship, will receive no points" I'd cheer for Carl to win the races he DID run.....because he does it because he loves to race, and win.

I looked up what a "Dedicated, Die-hard NASCAR Fan" is, and guess what I found?
Give up?
A photograph, just one.
It was a photo of you and Skool.
Imagine that. 

[20forLogano]

No
Yes
Not sure.  Would the sponsors come on board because they certainly come on board with the Cup boys

[FS_Amy]

I'd be interested to see if the Cup drivers who say they race Nationwide because they "just love to race"  would still do it if they had the budget of some real Nationwide teams, week-to-week sponsorship that barely covers the cost of tires, let alone other equipment, so that they are basically racing on what they won the week before, and a great finish, given what they have to work with, was 12th or 15th.  I'd bet not.  It's not o fun if you're not smoking the field each week, even if most of the field has much less to race on than you do.  I still think that the Cup drivers in NNS do it for ego.  You don't see any Cup champions trying to win one in Nationwide, because they really don't need to prove anything.

It's time for NASCAR to step up and fix what was, not long ago, the best bang for your buck in NASCAR, especially on a stand-alone weekend.  Back when the New Hampshire race was on Mothers' Day weekend, on a Cup off-week, it was a blast to go.  Sure, maybe four of five Cup guys would show up when someone offered a one-off ride, but they didn't win every time. In fact, the first time a Cup regular won a NNS race at New Hampshire was 2004.  A Nationwide guy has not won since.  Now, the race story is pretty much written for every race of they year, just fill in the Cup driver of the week's name as the winner, and it's all done.  It's not fun to watch anymore-it's a joke.

And until they all race their own stuff on their own money, I will never believe that most of them, especially the three or four who win every race, aren't in it for ego.  They haven't been able to win a Cup title, so they go take them from the smaller teams and younger, less experienced drivers.  That's real sportsmanship for you.

[south jersey girl]

Even big operations like Roush Fenway can't find sponsors for Nationwide cars.  Last race they ran 3 cars, and only 1 had sponsorship...the 60 driven by Carl Edwards.  The 6 and 16 ran without sponsors on the cars.  How long would the Nationwide series last without cup drivers?

[Chris]

Even big operations like Roush Fenway can't find sponsors for Nationwide cars.  Last race they ran 3 cars, and only 1 had sponsorship...the 60 driven by Carl Edwards.  The 6 and 16 ran without sponsors on the cars.  How long would the Nationwide series last without cup drivers?

I see your point there SJG.  seems valid.
On the other side of the coin we know the major teams (Roush, RCR, etc) that run in the NNS demand more sponsorship money for their entries in the NNS.  Hence they can sponsor one team (like a Roush driver) and have a shot at running up front (and on TV) than they can by sponsoring a couple cars that run mid-pack. (with all the CUP drivers racing)

IMO I think if there were a CAP on the number of races a full time CUP driver could run,.. then all those sponsorship dollars could be spread aruond more, and a lot FEWER teams would be getting by on a shoe-string budget every week.  Just a thought that I thunk??