Field fillers have no place in today's NASCAR

This whole field-filler phenomenon has gone from silly to absurd to downright dangerous, and it's time NASCAR seriously addresses it.

Bottom line is Jeff Gordon's lucky. The accordion job on the front end of the 24 car was one of the worst I've ever seen. Scared me.

I refuse to blame Andy Hillenburg for Gordon's wreck, but I have no reservation saying Hillenburg didn't belong in the field. Nor did Joe Ruttman. Or Kirk Shelmerdine.

Or Andy Belmont and Morgan Shepherd. And not because they can't drive, but because what they're driving can't make speed.

Slow cars are making a mockery of the Nextel Cup Series. This is the show, man. The best of the best. The premier racing series in the world, bar none. This isn't a place where guys should be showing up with a four-year old car and no pit crew, then run six laps and take home $50,000.

So why is it happening?

Speculation says NASCAR's contractual obligations with its television partners state the field must include 43 cars. Senior Vice President George Pyne has denied that in recent weeks.

	George Pyne

If it's not true, why not cut back the number of cars in the field and do away with the Punch-and-Judy stuff?

Do you think NASCAR should change its stance on 43-car fields for Nextel Cup? And if so, by how many?

To me, the key here is speed. If a guy is fast enough to compete, he has every right to. Whether it's 36 or 40 or 43 cars is irrelevant, so long as they're all fast enough to avoid being a hazard to fellow competitors.

That said, I don't think there are currently 43 capable cars out there. Thirty-six cars seems an appropriate number for the Nextel Cup Series, at least right now.

By my count, there are currently 35 legitimate full-time teams, including Derrike Cope's No. 50, and five other legitimate part-time operations (Nos. 1, 7, 23, 33 and 84).

So on average, you'll have 35 cars, and on any given weekend as many as 40. Continue to use three provisionals, take the top 33 speeds and get it on.

All you have to do is look at the Truck Series, folks. It's the best racing NASCAR has to offer, and starts 36 Trucks in every race.

racefan3815: I think that there should be a minimum speed requirement in qualifying, just as there is during the race. Any car that can't run within a certain percentage of the pole speed should not be eligible to participate in the race. I don't care if that car belongs to DEI, Petty or a small independent team, they should not be given the opportunity to compete.

	Andy Hillenburg

The vast majority of responses to this topic in some way mentioned the necessity of a minimum speed requirement in qualifying. But to me, Happy Hour is far more telling. Two-lap bonsai runs on sticker tires don't give a true indication of a car's performance potential.

The ability to perform in traffic, after multiple laps, tells the true tale. It took Kasey Kahne some 25 laps to start lapping cars Sunday at Darlington, a 1.3-mile track.

That's ludicrous.

Maybe it's time NASCAR devised a mathematical equation that calculates the difference between the 10th-place car in Saturday morning practice and those that are obviously off the pace.

If that equation shows a car will be lapped before a pre-determined number of laps – all tracks are different, so that number will be adjusted accordingly – send them home. Warn them following the first practice, and if they don't pick it up during Happy Hour, sayonara.

Just an idea...

bigEliverson: Of course they should. Yesterday's race is a clear example of why. You've got under-funded cars showing up at the track to fill the field, running around getting lapped within 20 laps. All this on a track that really doesn't have much room to begin with.

The closing rate is so high at Darlington that the slow cars literally cannot get out of the way fast enough, and create more problems than they are worth having in the race. NASCAR should take a serious look at this before something bad happens again like Jeff Gordon's wreck. One of the drivers could have been seriously injured in that crash.

The gospel according to AI: Practice? We're talkin' 'bout practice? Absolutely, Allen, practice is a very important factor, here.

nazcarnut3: Sure they can keep the 43 starting if they can keep within a certain percentage of the pole speed like they do in F-1 and loose the provisional rule out the window and everyone gets in on time and speeds!

Seems many of you want to do away with provisional starting positions. The only way that makes sense is if you're a Jeff Gordon fan. The four-time champion has only needed two provisionals in his entire career -- one at Homestead in 2002 and one in this season's Daytona 500.

But aside from Gordon, most of your drivers would miss several races each year if provisionals were done away with.

	Richard Childress

This cat has it figured out:

mlite2: Minimum speed for qualifying and no provisionals? First off, qualifying is one or two laps. It's very easy even for a title contender to slip up during one lap and not qualify and need the provisional. Even if you have two laps if you mess up on the first the second will probably suffer likewise.

I believe provisionals were designed for the good team that makes a mistake during that one lap. With the changes this year for provisionals it keeps the consistently slow teams from earning as many provisionals.

So just enforce the minimum speed during the race and be quick about it especially at the short tracks. The slower cars yesterday where being lapped in as short a time as six laps.

That, my friends, is the real deal.

Rustyfan13: I don't think field fillers are bad. Look at Richard Childress, when he started racing in Cup he was a field filler but he made money and ended up being a top ten driver.

And look at him now, he is a very successful car owner. So if you take away field fillers you are taking away peoples' chances to become a Richard Childress. Kirk Shelmerdine has already been able to build another car or two and become more competitive with the last place money he has earned.

Your point carries merit to a degree, but I don't necessarily think Childress is the optimal example. Childress' driving career began in 1969. Just a quick hint: NASCAR 2004 is just slightly more competitive, commercial, scrutinized, mainstream and, above all else, expensive than NASCAR 1969.

Marty Smith  Email  Archive

And I'm not being a smart aleck, because your idea that everyone has to start somewhere is legitimate. Rick Hendrick didn't build an empire in a day.

Money is a major factor, here. The cost of running a team has gotten so astronomically high that only a select few folks can afford to do it. One wonders if a salary cap isn't in order...

Racefan210: Before the season even starts, NASCAR should determine who can and cannot enter a race. The top 35 in owner points would automatically earn a spot.

Everyone below that would have to show up at a track (Charlotte would be the most logical) and prove to NASCAR that they can run at least as fast as the predetermined required speed.

Not just one lap, but several laps, maybe even 50 or 100, to prove that they can sustain a competitive speed. Also, the teams would have to commit to running at least 18 races.

With this system, there would be 37 cars in the field for 2004 races. Every one on the track would be competitive and running for the championship. What a relief it would be to have a field with only fast cars.

Just because they can make speed at Charlotte once doesn't mean they can make speed at Michigan or Phoenix or Darlington every week.

Buckshotfan: Nothing wrong with capping the field at 43. I think it's an insult to refer to those cars that are not the best on the track as "fillers".

Those guys fight harder than others to get sponsors and their equipment up to par and they deserve a chance like the big boys.

That being said, 43 cars or not, when a car becomes to slow to properly compete, NASCAR needs to act faster to remove that car from the track.

But in the beginning, if you qualify, you should have your shot you never when that big one will take out those 42 cars ahead of you.

Great answer, Roy. As I stated earlier, if a guy can create the necessary speed, then by all means he should be racing that car. One vital point Roy makes here: It is NASCAR's responsibility to park slow cars in rapid fashion. It's like Gordon said Sunday following his wreck:

"As long as they're allowed to go out there and run those speeds, then by all means they should."

This is an epic, but several points-worth-discussing are raised:

1815fan: I think that it should stay at 43 cars, that is a good number and has proven it. Besides if the field was not as open, would the greats have ever had a chance. Most of them started with there own cars or low budget operations, too.

So what if little Jeffery crybaby had to pass a few other cars? If they can qualify to make the field then they should run and regardless of the speeds they have qualified at.

Under his thinking even the cars that have been in a wreck shouldn't be on the track. So why don't we just make it the WWE and decide who is to be the champ before the season starts and then pretend to race for the rest of the year?

The problem is that money is tight for everyone and sponsors are hard to come by. I, for one, do not want to see NASCAR turn into MLB or the NBA where only the teams with big bucks dominate and make the rules.

NASCAR needs to help all the cars get sponsorship after all, they are the ones that make it harder every year to get a good sponsor because the price just keeps going up and up.

Then you have a guy like Derrike Cope who gets a sponsor only to have NASCAR say that it is inappropriate. But they will allow Viagra as a sponsor?

I guess it is appropriate because it is Jack Roush that got it his team, and money talks in the "New NASCAR."

The one aspect of Bobby Waltrip's response that I'd like to address is the part about NASCAR helping teams garner sponsorship. The sanctioning body has an entire office, located in Manhattan, dedicated to assisting teams with this taxing endeavor.

Problem is, they're simultaneously bidding for the same sponsorships on behalf of the sanctioning body. That means many companies that become official NASCAR sponsors could potentially be assisting under-funded teams.

Now, I haven't a clue what amount of money Domino's Pizza sends to Daytona as the "Official Pizza of NASCAR," but I'd bet the farm it would go a long way to putting John Andretti in the seat of the No. 1 Chevrolet, or at least allow a "field-filler" a more viable chance at achieving the dream.

The Last Lap appears every Tuesday at 3 p.m. ET, unless Marty is late, which is nearly never.

The opinions listed here are solely those of the writer.