Good drivers without rides due to open-wheel infusion

Restrictor plates, the Chase, the COT ... a host of changes have altered NASCAR since the time stock-car racing was a fixture on 19-inch big screens.

More change is under way, which is good -- on the surface. But when one digs deeper ...

• Send Bill your thoughts

The 2008 Sprint Cup season will go down in history as a watershed year, featuring the most diverse group of drivers in the sport's 60-year history.

Colombia native and 2007 rookie of the year Juan Montoya will be back. Dario Franchitti, who was born in Scotland, will make his Cup debut. The '08 lineup also includes two Canadians, Jacques Villeneuve and Patrick Carpentier. And for the first time since Dick Johnson in 1989, an Australian will make a Cup start when Marcos Ambrose drives part time for the Wood Brothers.

This is an exciting time in the history of the sport.

But there also is some concern.

Montoya, Franchitti, Villeneuve and Carpentier, along with Americans Sam Hornish Jr. and A.J. Allmendinger, have moved into the highest level of stock-car racing with an open-wheel background and virtually no experience in a stock car.

Meanwhile, drivers who have worked their way through the system are now on the outside looking in, trying to find a Cup ride, or settling for the Nationwide or Truck Series.

Some would argue the open-wheel guys have plenty of experience with the laps run in their respective series and deserve to be there. I disagree. I see team owners being patient with torn-up racecars, a lack of experience and spotty performance for one reason -- money.

Look at the list of drivers currently on the sideline: David Stremme, Johnny Sauter, Tony Raines, Boris Said, Scott Wimmer, Kenny Wallace. With the exception of Said, and maybe Wallace, these guys aren't overly attractive to sponsors, no matter how successful they are on the track.

Stremme is a perfect example of this, losing his ride to make room for 2007 IndyCar champ Franchitti. Stremme ran three full seasons in the Busch Series, finishing as high as 10th in 2004 to earn his Cup ride.

After a rough Cup rookie season in which Stremme posted four DNFs, a best finish of 11th and a season ranking of 33rd in points, he did everything that was asked of him in Year 2. Stremme had three top-10s, improved his lead-lap finishes by seven, his average finish by a full position and ended the season 24th in points. Yet, with all the skill and potential to have a stellar third season, he finds himself a part-time driver for Rusty Wallace Inc. in the Nationwide Series.

Sauter, who was prominently featured in ABC's NASCAR in Primetime, an opportunity to get his name and face in the limelight, ultimately was bounced when Gillette Evernham Motorsports added Carpentier to its team, a move that led Haas CNC to snatch up Scott Riggs in favor of Sauter.

In the Busch Series since 2002, Sauter was very successful with 49 top-10 finishes in five seasons and no worse than 18th in points, twice ending the season eighth. Finally getting a full-time Cup ride in 2007, Sauter kept his car in the top 35 all season and had three top-10s, including a fifth at Richmond. But it wasn't enough to keep him around. Apparently one season is enough to become a failure.

In the end, Sauter also landed in the Nationwide Series.

Autostock

Johnny Sauter

Silly Season

It sounds fun, but silly season is anything but. The '08 lineup is just about complete, but there could be a few more open rides before Daytona in February.

• '08 Projected Drivers & Teams

Both Stremme and Sauter are young, good-looking, marketable and have potential as Cup drivers -- yet they can't find a car out of the 50-plus that attempt to race each week.

And they aren't alone.

Raines did a great job in his two years at Hall of Fame Racing; Said has proven he can drive, yet finds himself more in need on ESPN than in a racecar; and Wimmer went back to the Busch Series, helped win an owner's championship for Richard Childress, yet still can't find his way into a Cup deal.

What happened to the days of starting in a lower series and earning a ride? Since when did racing open-wheel with a half-dozen starts in Trucks or Busch give drivers an exemption into the top racing circuit in America?

The scary part in this influx of open-wheel guys is they aren't ready to compete in a stock car. All one has to do is look at this past season to realize that.

In nine races, Villeneuve crashed in four of them. Franchitti had two wrecks in five races. Hornish could hardly qualify for a Cup race, missing the cut the first six times he tried. And in the Busch Series he wrecked in four of nine races. Carpentier, when away from a road course, never finished on the lead lap.

Not every open-wheel transfer will be Montoya. He is the exception. His transition into stock cars, while rough at the beginning, turned out to be impressive. The new crop of open-wheelers needs more time in the Nationwide and Truck Series. What they don't need is a full-time Cup ride handed to them on a silver platter because they were successful at one time in a series that's nothing like the Sprint Cup.

A disappointing precedent is being set right now. Gone are the days where a driver starts in a go-kart and moves up through the Late Model and Grand National ranks to get an opportunity in one of NASCAR's national series. NASCAR's top level is becoming less and less about talent. Sponsors want a name they can sell, and who's more attractive in an ad -- Franchitti or Stremme? It doesn't matter anymore if a driver is talented or how well he finishes; it comes down to money. If they aren't getting the exposure, they're no good to a Cup team -- and that's sad.

All that matters is the bottom line, and some great drivers are being cast aside for unproven names who found success in circuits that don't necessarily compare.

The opinions expressed are those solely of the writer.