New blood brings whole new approach to racing (cont'd)

If Ginn and DEI can structure a deal in such a way that NASCAR approves the gerrymandering of the car numbers, Menard's problem is solved.

There's just one hitch. If the No. 13 car doesn't make a qualifying attempt at the next Cup race, the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, that could jeopardize its standing in the top 35. Accordingly, whether or not a deal materializes in the next week, you can bet that the No. 13 won't be idle at Indy. Good businessmen don't let an asset depreciate unnecessarily.

DEI spokesman John Story had no comment Friday when asked about possible negotiations between the teams, and Ginn principals could not be reached during the off weekend.

The long-term effect of the merger mentality is the extinction of smaller operations. It is hugely expensive these days to run even one Nextel Cup team, much less three or four. If money buys speed -- and it does -- then the gap between the strong and the weak will only widen, and underfunded teams will disappear through attrition.

The logical extension of the racing version of economic Darwinism is a franchise system where every car is guaranteed to race and every sponsor is guaranteed a presence on the track. Driver Jeff Burton has said on more than one occasion that franchising could and should be the future of NASCAR racing.

From an owner's standpoint, a franchise system could be a godsend.

Today, when a race team disappears from the sport, it's usually because the owner loses interest, goes broke or dies. A franchise, on the other hand, has lasting value, can be sold or transferred and provides an owner with a more graceful and lucrative exit strategy.

Are we there yet? No. But we're moving in that direction in a high-speed version of "Let's Make A Deal."

And in this day and age, a great "deal" man is every bit as important as a great "wheel" man.