NASCAR is at it again, tinkering with everything like a 2-year-old.  Within the past 2 weeks, they've announced 4 major, and I do mean MAJOR changes for 2009.  Here, we take a look at each of the changes.  I'll give you my take on each of them.  Read the article, and you'll see my opinion below each.

1.) www.nascar.com/2008/news/headlines/cup/08/25/cup.testing.landscape.2009/index.html
This first change is in regards to the format of testing.  NASCAR has always run sanctioned testing at tracks on the Cup Series schedule, but not anymore.  It's always been a case of "you're going to test with everyone else when WE tell you to regardless of whether you like it or not."  That's all about to change.  Starting in 2009, NASCAR will allow teams to test independently at tracks on the Sprint Cup schedule.  There will be a limit of 24 testing days, 2 fully loaded transporters, and only 2 cars from each organzation will be allowed on the track at a given time.  There are still some stipulations, but IMO this is something I applaud NASCAR for.  This will give teams the freedom to test when and where they want to test.  The only testing session that will still be run by NASCAR is Preseason Thunder in Daytona, but that's something every driver looks forward to in order to prepare for their shot at NASCAR's biggest single race prize.

There have been preseason tests at Fontana and Las Vegas, but those will be axed.  Teams can still test there though...if they want to pay their own expenses.  The challenge for teams will be figuring out which tracks will be most beneficial to them, and "allocating manpower" as the article states.  One problem I do have with this is that NASCAR will still oversee the October tire testing sessions at Indy, but will NOT sanction the one in the Spring.  John Darby says "we've been there for 14 years."  That's true, but if I were NASCAR I'd still sanction every scheduled test at Indy I possibly can until next August to avoid the mess we saw a month ago.

The final piece to this puzzle is a new rule prohibiting any team from testing at a certain track within 7 days of a scheduled race at that track.  That's also something I applaud NASCAR for doing.  This will keep teams from gaining extra information unknown to other drivers by running a test session at the last minute.  I'm sure there will be some hiccups along the way, but this is a process that should help in the long run.  From now on, it's up to the teams themselves to decide where to test and when to do it.  It gives all NASCAR organzations more independence.  Thank you, NASCAR, for cutting the leash on all the teams.

2.) www.nascar.com/2008/news/headlines/cup/08/26/bud.shootout.changes/index.html
The Bud Shooutout will now feature the top 6 drivers from each manufacturer...say WHAT?!  This time, NASCAR has really screwed up!  For 30 years, the Bud Shooutout has been the award for winning a pole, but not anymore.  NASCAR has found yet another way to fudge up a good thing.  Now you're not eligible if you're a pole winner, nor are you eligible if you're a past race winner, which used to be good for a lifetime ticket to the race.  There will be 24 cars in the Shootout come February 2009, and I do mean 24 CARS!  The field will be determined by 2008 owner points, and whoever is behind the wheel of the top 6 cars from each manufacturer next year will get a ticket to the newly screwed-around-with Bud Shootout.

That's right, NASCAR strikes again with the owner points idea, and this time they've gone way too far!  Take a look at who would be screwed over, and who would benefit from this new format...
Ryan Newman won a pole at Phoenix this year, but because he'll be driving the #39 next year for Smoke, he's no longe eligible due to joining a new team.  That means whoever drives the #12 car next year is guaranteed to be in the Bud Shootout, even if they've never come close to a pole in their Cup Series career!  The same goes for Tony Stewart.  He's going to a new team, so even though he's a 3-time shooutout winner, he's not eligible for 2009, and Joey Logano, since he'll drive the #20 next year, is guaranteed to be in the race even though he has yet to make his Cup Series debut!  You'd think this was all, but wait, there's more!

Casey Mears will now be in the Bud Shootout because he's driving the 07, and Clint Bowyer, while he currently is eligible with the new format, won't be come February because he'll also be on a new team.  Joe Nemechek, Paul Menard, and Patrick Carpentier have all won poles this year.  Guess what, they're on the outside looking in now too.  The icing on the cake with this new format is that Michael Waltrip and David Reutimann are currently eligible at this juncture...seriously?

If that's still not enough, consider this...the 6 Chevys will be represented by all 3 current RCR cars, and the 3 HMS cars in the Chase.  All 3 JGR cars will be in this race representing Toyota, Gillette-Evernham and Roger Penske will account for 4 of the 6 Dodges in the 24-car field, and all 5 Roushketeers will be in the race.  I don't care who you want to please, NASCAR, you've just destroyed the Bud Shootout.  If a driver wins a pole during the current season, he gets a ticket to the Bud Shootout.  If he wins the race, he gets a free pass toe come back every year until he hangs up his helmet.  That's the way it's been for 30 years, and that's the way it should stay!  Congratulations, NASCAR, every time I think you can't do something dumber, you prove me wrong.

3.) www.jayski.com/pages/2009cup_sched.htm

I just got done ripping NASCAR a new one for their boneheaded move in monkeying with the Bud Shootout, but they deserve some praise for the changes made to the 2009 Sprint Cup Schedule.  There are 4 off weeks.  Talladega is moving to Nov 1, the 7th race in the Chase in place of Atlanta.  California's 2nd race will be October 11th, the 4th race in the Chase, which was formerly the date for the 2nd Talladega race.  Wait, Atlanta's missing...oh no it's not!  The Labor Day weekend race is coming home to the heart and soul of NASCAR, the South, where it was held for over 50 years before it was given to a snoozefest of a track out on the West Coast.  That's right folks, Atlanta Motor Speedway will now host NASCAR's Labor Day weekend race.  I'm sad it couldn't have happened sooner, because let's face it, California is just a boring track, under the lights or not.  It was time to bring Labor Day in NASCAR back to a more exciting track, and this time they did something right!  Can I get a HALLELUJAH?!  These changes should help all 3 venues, as they've all had attendance problems over the past few years.  Fans packed Darlington for the Southern 500 every Labor Day weekend, and rest assured that all those fans and more will file into Atlanta nicely now that the race is coming back to their neck of the woods.  Speaking of the Southern 500, check out the final change recently announced...

4.) www.nascar.com/2008/news/headlines/cup/08/14/darlington.southern.500.return/index.html
It's BAAAAAAAAAACK!  In 2004, NASCAR axed the fall race at Rockingham, and decided it wouldn't go back to the track at all for 2005.  They gave California the Southern 500 weekend, and threw the Southern 500 into Rockingham's former slot at the end of the year.  In 2005 they played "Swap-a-Date" again, and this time they got rid of the Southern 500 completely, shut up ISC and gave Texas a 2nd race, and moved Darlington's one and only remaining race to Mother's Day weekend under the lights.  Don't get me wrong, Darlington under the lights is awesome, but something has still been missing from that track for the past 4 years, something that was synonymous with Darlington Raceway...UNTIL NOW!  Get ready, NASCAR fans, the Southern 500 is coming back!  2009 will mark the 60th year for the Lady in Black, and the name that was given to the first 500-mile race and the first NASCAR race run on a paved track in 1950 is being resurrected.  NASCAR's original superspeedway is getting back the name that was stripped from after 2004.  There are no plans to reunite the Southern 500 with Labor Day weekend in the foreseeable future, but bringing back the name will give Darlington back the prestige she's always had.  I've been watching NASCAR for 20 years, and they've been straying away from the roots of the sport.  It's been good for NASCAR to spread out into new markets, but one thing you can't do is take away something that has been a marquis of your sport from day 1.  Darlington IS the Souther 500.  The name and the track go together like peanut butter and jelly.  You just can't have one without the other, and Chris Browning deserves to be commended for a long awaited reunion between Darlington and her signature title.  The Lady in Black turns 60 in 2009, and the celebration will be mighty fine.  Finally, it's going to seem like the REAL Darlington Raceway once again!

Keep it tuned to The Blitzburgh Pit Stop, your home for NASCAR news on the Q.  Until next time, I'm your NASCAR VP saying THANK YOU NASCAR for cutting the ties, awarding Labor Day to an exciting track, and bringing back a name synonymous with NASCAR since the beginning...but you're still a bunch of idiots for the Bud Shooutout changes!

BK over and out