Wednesday, April 23, 2008

No Need to Panic

These are good times for the folks in open-wheel racing. Their long war is over and their biggest star has finally won a race. And, they're a little over a month away from their biggest race of the year.

So, should the folks in Daytona be sweating? Not even close. NASCAR has taken great advantage of the open-wheel war over the last decade to move far past their brethren in the national consciousness it's going to take more than a couple of months of feel good stories to close the gap.

But, it's also important for NASCAR not to rest on its laurels. And, that's something we talk about frequently.

They've made some moves in the right direction by allowing the drivers to have personalities again. And, they've acknowledged that the horrible show we got a Texas can't happen again by opening up Lowes Motor Speedway for testing prior to the May activities.

There will now be pressure to add a full-time female driver to the mix in Cup. But, to rush someone into just any ride would be a huge mistake.

We've seen plenty of female drivers in the past. That's not a story anymore. What we haven't seen is a female driver in a competitive ride.

The next woman who gets a full-time ride in Cup deserves to have it be in a ride that she has a chance to win in. That's only fair to her and the sport. Anything else will be regarded as failure (real or otherwise)...and the last thing NASCAR needs (or wants) is perceived failure in that area.