Competitiveness is in the driver's seat - Pace Lap - a look at upcoming NASCAR season - Brief Article

Auto Racing Digest, May, 2002 by Scott Plagenhoef

GENTLEMEN, START YOUR engines, it's time for another motor sports season, one that should put the tragedy and turmoil of 2001 in the rear-view mirror.

Last year, NASCAR's fresh start was overshadowed by a sudden ending: The new television contract and completion of the series' version of manifest destiny was interrupted by the death of one of its greatest good ol' boys, Dale Earnhardt.

The circuit gets a sort of reprisal this year--a second chance to make an impression, complete with increased media and fan interest--as well as a needed boost of young talent, led by our cover star Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. In another year or two, young guns Casey Atwood and Ryan Newman should also be challenging for places in the top 10.

Above them all still stands the towering Jeff Gordon, but if the youngsters emerge and the Dodge drivers bounce back from last year's largely disappointing showings, this could be the deepest field in Winston Cup history.

In Formula One, things should be (gasp!) competitive. There is potential for change at the top as the emerging Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya are set to challenge the circuit's new career wins leader, Michael Schumacher, and his Ferrari partner, Rubens Barrichello.

Out of sight will be Mika Hakkinen, who is stepping aside after his six-year partnership with David Coulthard--the longest in the history of F1.

With Ferrari's transparent focus on all things Schumacher--at the expense of Barrichello--the Constructors Championship may actually be Williams' to win. Even more encouraging, there are potentially four drivers--the Williams duo, Michael Schumacher, and Coulthard--who Could win the Driver's Crown.

Despite the depth of NASCAR and the top-heavy talent of F1, the biggest competition this year may not be on the track--or even between drivers and teams--but between America's two major open-wheel series, CART and the IRL.

When Tony George took his track and went home in the mid-1990s, it seemed to be a case of ego run amuck, a trampling of common sense and business acumen.

But, due to mismanagement, CART officials lost the plot and their grip. Track follies, quibbling with engine manufacturers, a downgrade in television exposure, and the departures of Marlboro, Roger Penske, and their drivers threaten to make CART the stepchild of American racing.

This is a pivotal year for the IRL, arguably its first in the national spotlight. A further shift in performance and sponsorship money may mean even more defections and "victory" in what is threatening to become an open-wheel end-sum game.

It's a pivotal year then for CART, too, which needs personality and attention in the worst way or threatens to be run off of the road.