Head2Head: Cup drivers racing in Nationwide Series

Can you imagine the second-largest racing series in America all of a sudden without any big-name talent? If you listen to Jason -- that's exactly what he wants to see.

Taking Cup drivers out of the Nationwide Series is ludicrous and, thank God, NASCAR doesn't listen to the gibberish of those fans who complain when Cup guys win all the Nationwide races and championships -- because the series would struggle without them.

Sure, I understand the frustration. Watching guys like Busch and Edwards take all the glory while up-and-comers like Allgaier, Gaughan, Lagasse and Wallace classify a top-10 as a win. But there are two reasons it needs to stay this way.

First, it's a completely different series. The Nationwide Series has its own car, its own engine, its own tires, its own rules -- aside from racing at the same tracks, the Nationwide Series is not the Cup Series. No one seems to have a problem when Cup guys make Truck Series starts, so the Nationwide Series should be no different.

Second, it would hinder driver development. Guys like Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski would lose important track time because they've made Cup starts. Plus, when guys like Logano, Keselowski, Gilliland and Leffler get that victory -- it makes it that much more special.

The Nationwide Series is its own entity and should be treated as such. There's no rule (nor should there be) saying a driver has to make X number of Nationwide starts before moving up to Cup -- just like there's no rule saying once you go to Cup, you have to stay there.

B y allowing full-time Sprint Cup Series drivers to run in the Nationwide Series, NASCAR has hurt the competitiveness, identity and growth of what once was -- and should be again -- a developmental series.

Looking at the Nationwide Series statistics from the past three years, I see a disturbing trend. Every title has been won by a full-time Cup driver. Kevin Harvick and Carl Edwards won going away, while Clint Bowyer's lone threat a year ago -- Edwards -- just also happened to win the most Cup races that season. Every other championship in series history has been won by a driver who, at most, "dabbled" in NASCAR's premier division.

During the aforementioned three-year stretch, 94 of the 105 race winners were full-time Cup drivers. If you include this season's five-race sweep, it jumps to 99 of the past 110.

With anywhere from a quarter to a third of the starting grid being Cup regulars (who have posted more than 75 percent of the top-10 finishes this season), the Nationwide Series has lost its identity. People don't call it "Cup lite" for nothing.

Young drivers have a hard time making a name for themselves or earning sponsorship when they're overmatched -- or have their seat taken away -- by somebody who also has a ride in the sport's top series.

NASCAR needs to do away with -- or at least severely limit -- full-time Cup drivers "claim-jumping." The growth -- and even survival -- of the Nationwide Series depends on it.