Do the numbers support today's Golden Age label? (cont'd)

Why?

Consider the economic climate of the time. The United States less than a year removed from the 1973 oil embargo, which raised crude oil prices more than 200 percent. That, plus inflation running at 11 percent and unemployment reaching close to 8 percent by the end of the year, led to a global recession.

Cubic dollars

If you want a vivid description of the gradual extinction of single-car teams in today's NASCAR, you need only take a look at what has transpired since the 2003 Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 at Darlington Raceway.

That day, Ricky Craven -- driving the No. 32 Tide Pontiac for Cal Wells' PPI Motorsports -- caught and passed Kurt Busch on the last lap of a thrilling doorhandle-to-doorhandle duel to win by .002 seconds, the closest finish under electronic scoring up to that date.

It would be Pontiac's last Cup victory, as the manufacturer left the series at the end of the season. Craven would make his final Cup start one year later. And after Tide decided not to renew at the end of 2006, Wells had little choice but to close his shop and put everything up for auction.

It wasn't always this way. Owners like Junior Johnson, Bud Moore, Nord Krauskopf, Harry Melling, Harry Rainer and the Wood Brothers were successful one-car operations for years.

Life as we know it changed when technology began to overtake tenacity, when the price of gaining one mile an hour was measured in cubic dollars instead of cubic horsepower. Multi-car teams had been around for years, but it was Rick Hendrick who made it work successfully, beginning in 1986 with Geoffrey Bodine and Tim Richmond. His blueprint has basically been copied now by more than a half-dozen organizations with varying degrees of success.

If two heads are better than one, then a couple of hundred are even better. If you can produce, prepare and market each additional team for the fraction of the cost of a single-car operation -- and do it successfully -- it's a no-brainer. And the delicate balance that once allowed single-car teams to compete on equal footing no longer exists, even as NASCAR has tried to keep costs in check with common templates and limitations on testing.

Single-car teams have basically been stomped into submission. Darrell Waltrip's foray into ownership ended in 1998, Ricky Rudd's a year later and Bill Elliott gave up on owning his own operation in 2000. That leaves only a few stragglers, including the proud, unbowed Wood Brothers, Beth Ann Morgenthau, Barney Visser, Hall of Fame Racing and Robby Gordon.

But don't place single-car teams in the endangered species category just yet. NASCAR's version of the Environmental Protection Act could very well be the Car of Tomorrow. The COT has given single-car operations a glimmer of hope, not because of safety or costs, but because the tolerances are so precise. According to Gordon, it appears there's little to be gained by spending large chunks of money in an effort trying to gain a competitive advantage with the new chassis.

"I think that's going to take away the little bit of disadvantages not being a three- or four-car team, because you lose out on the aerodynamic edge," Gordon said. "We all have the same bodies now, so that's one more piece of the equation that's not there any more."

Is it working? All five teams made the show at Bristol, and Gordon ran well until he made contact with Kevin Harvick and spun. But we won't know the full effect until 2008, when all 36 races are run with the COT. In any case, give credit to NASCAR for its attempts to enhance the survivability of single-car teams.

Fifteen seasons ago, Kulwicki's Underbird underdogs had their day, winning the championship over bigger, better-funded teams. Since then, that feat only serves to strengthen the determination of NASCAR's "little teams that could."

The combination of recession and inflation meant car companies, struggling to remain profitable, had little cash available to fund multiple racing teams in 1974.

That's not the case in 2007, where four car manufacturers are supporting a full field of cars every week.

Increased legislation

Geoffrey Bodine's 1994 victory at North Wilkesboro may wind up as one of NASCAR's most unbreakable records. Why? Because he lapped the entire field.

Barring a very unusual set of circumstances -- a dominant car at a short track, coupled with a long green flag run without a late caution flag -- no one will ever duplicate that feat.

NASCAR's increased focus on safety since 2001 -- more cautions, the "lucky dog" rule and pit road speed limits -- has had a two-fold impact. Not only has it made the sport safer, it's virtually eliminated the chance of anyone lapping the field.

But is NASCAR more competitive and unpredictable in 2007 than at any time in its history? Well, that depends on how you define the terms.

Fourteen drivers have won races this season, which seems at first glance to be a pretty good indicator that there's a parity involved. But there's a disparity when you realize that every one of those drivers come from just seven multi-car organizations: Hendrick, Roush, Gibbs, Penske, Childress, DEI/Ginn and Ganassi.

The "Seven Giants," which account for 50 percent of the 48 cars that typically enter each race weekend, have produced 94 percent of the top-fives (113 of 120) and 88 percent of the top-10 finishes (212 of 240) in 2007.

Ten years ago, the top six organizations accounted for 186 top-10 finishes, or 58 percent of the total. That percentage has been steadily on the rise every year since, a direct correlation with the growth of multi-car operations.

That's not an increase in competition. On the contrary. It's an oligopoly, where a handful of organizations have an unequal share of the power.

With the growth of NASCAR's "super teams," the gap between the haves and have-nots has grown wider, not narrower. Successful organizations generate more sponsorship opportunities, which results in more money to spend, more test time to use and a larger pool of manpower with which to brainstorm.

Of the 12 victories achieved by NASCAR's smaller organizations since 2000, only Bill Davis and the Wood Brothers remain. And Ricky Craven's doorhandle-banging duel with Kurt Busch at Darlington in 2003 for PPI remains the last win by a single-car team.

How unpredictable can it be, fans must wonder, when it seems as if the same cars are racing for a top-10 finish every week? In 1974, 27 different drivers posted a top-5 finish in 30 races, only two fewer than in the entire 2006 season.

NASCAR also points to close finishes as a measuring stick in its Golden Age argument.

Two of the 10 closest finishes in the electronic scoring era have occured at Daytona this season -- Jamie McMurray's win in July and Kevin Harvick's Daytona 500 victory in February. In addition, 11 of the 23 races have featured a margin of victory of a second or less.

However, only finishes since the advent of integrated electronic scoring in 1993 were included, making it appear at first glance that today's racing is far superior.

An analysis of the racing-reference.info database shows no fewer than 322 races between 1949 and 1992 with a recorded margin of victory that could be considered to be a second or less, starting with Bob Flock's victory over Lee Petty in the 1949 Wilkes 200 at North Wilkesboro.

• Between 1950 and 1954, Herb Thomas won six races by four car-lengths or less.

• In 1956, Buck Baker beat Joe Weatherly by 12 inches at Wilson, N.C.

• In 1959, Lee Petty won three races by less than a second, including his photo-finish win -- measured at 24 inches -- over Johnny Beauchamp in the inaugural Daytona 500.

• Three consecutive races were won by a combined total of five car-lengths in 1965.

• In 1969, LeeRoy Yarbrough beat Charlie Glotzbach by a car-length at the Daytona 500 and Pearson by the same distance at the Southern 500.

• In 1972, A.J. Foyt lost two races by a combined total of one car-length.

• During a two-year span, Petty beat Pearson three times by less than .26 seconds, only to have Pearson return the favor by 50 yards in the 1977 Daytona 500.

• Darrell Waltrip edged Neil Bonnett by .3 seconds at the Riverside road course in 1980.

• Between 1990-92, Davey Allison beat Mark Martin by eight inches at Bristol; Rusty Wallace was 12 inches ahead of Ernie Irvan at Thunder Valley; Dale Jarrett edged Davey by 10 inches at Michigan and Bill Elliott beat Alan Kulwicki by 18 inches at Richmond.

NASCAR has had several eras that could be considered "golden," if the number of close finishes is considered. From 1958-61, there were 32 races where the margin of victory was a second or less. Between 1968-72, 41 races ended that way. There were no fewer than 10 close finishes in each season between 1985-88.

There were 15 close finishes in 1981, a season that featured five consecutive close finishes -- two car-lengths at Daytona, three car-lengths at Nashville, four car-lengths at Pocono, two feet at Talladega and two car-lengths at Michigan.

However, the greatest season for close finishes might have been 1988, when 15 of the 29 races were decided by a second or less -- without the benefit of bunching the field for a two-lap, green-white-checkered shootout.

As a comparison, 18 of the 36 races in 2006 met the "close finish" guideline, although the green-white-checkered was invoked eight times.

One of the hallmarks of NASCAR from the beginning has been its close competition, something that continues to this day. It's impossible to definitively compare eras, especially as much as NASCAR has evolved since 1949.

Without being presumptuous, NASCAR should be celebrating how today's drivers have added to that legacy rather than unintentionally belittling the efforts of those who have contributed to it.

The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.