Faster. Louder. The weekly column on SPEEDtv.com by Jade Gurss. (Harold Hinson Photo) » More Photos

If trickle-down theory worked, it would seem companies no longer able to afford the massive Cup prices would flock to the next biggest series. But, it hasn’t worked that way. The Nationwide Series hasn’t had a defined image, niche or distinct marketing position in more than a decade (just one of the many reasons Anheuser-Busch opted to not renew its title sponsorship after a quarter-century), and if they don’t find one sooner rather than later, it is likely to be the series hardest hit by the economic downturn.

The top Nationwide teams with Cup parents such as Joe Gibbs Racing, JR Motorsports (now under the Hendrick umbrella) and Richard Childress Racing openly admit to losing money on their Nationwide teams. However, they continue to fund the programs as development efforts for their Cup teams, writing large checks as an investment in the hope of future payoffs.

If the biggest teams can’t make money in the series because of high costs (not to mention tiny race purses with the winners often receiving less than their Truck Series counterparts), what does that mean to Nationwide teams without Cup partnerships? How do Kevin Harvick Inc., Braun Racing or CJM Racing and the other independent teams with seemingly decent sponsors fathom continuing without being willing to reach into their own pocket every month?

NASCAR has seemingly blinked on instituting the Car o’ Tomorrow into the Nationwide Series next season, but it may be only delaying the inevitable. Most well-funded Cup teams had the five to 10 million dollars to invest in transitioning their old cars into the CoT, but how many Nationwide teams have even a small portion of that money lying around to make the switch? And which banks will still be in business to lend them the cash?

What ideas do you have to save the Nationwide Series? Here’s your shot: leave your comments below.

The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SpeedTV.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or Speed Channel

Jade Gurss is the owner of fingerprint, inc., a sports publicity company. He has written two New York Times Best Sellers, including what is believed to be the biggest-selling motorsports book in American publishing history (Driver #8 with Dale Earnhardt Jr.). His two decades of publicity and marketing experience involves nearly every category of motorsports, including nine innovative seasons as NASCAR publicist for the Budweiser brand and Earnhardt Jr. His blog can be seen at: http://fingerprint.typepad.com


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