2008 NASCAR Season Questions

The Nationwide Series...(Yes, I started typing "Busc" before I realized the mistake. I still call it the Busch Series, but for the sake of argument, I'll go with Nationwide.)

Anyway, this series has taken a beating in the last few season. It's been run down by Cup drivers, and has struggled to produce the new superstars, like Matt Kenseth, Dale Jr. and Martin Truex, Jr. since no new kids have actually had the chance to win. Not to mention the influx of open wheel drivers who have come in, no questions asked, taking up rides that normally go to the new guys that come from the Busch series.

Sponsors don't want to pay money for unknowns who can't win against the Cup guys, and teams don't even want to try to qualify for races when they know they'll probably not make it, since most spots go to Cup guys. We're now faced with the possibility of fields under the 43 car mark, and unless NASCAR steps in, it's going to be a struggle for the Bu...Nationwide Series.

Speaking of open wheelers, 2008 will be a big test to see how they perform.

A lot of people are wondering when the love-fest at Joe Gibbs racing will come to a crashing, or wrecking halt. With three drivers with tempers, attitudes and egos as big as Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch, it's bound to happen. I just hope TV cameras are there to catch every second of it.

Will NASCAR finally come up with a better way for drivers to get into races? The qualifying set-up we have now, while improved with the go-or-go-homers qualifying together, is still terribly flawed.

2008 will also, in my opinion, be the deciding season on which racetracks get to keep what dates heading into the future.