Top 35 Rule Now Hurting Those It Was Supposed To Protect

Several years ago NASCAR came up with the Top 35 rule. The idea was that it was to protect those teams that raced each week from being bumped from a race by a part-time team. Teams such as the Petty’s and Wood Brothers, among others, were to benefit from running each week, thereby maintaining a higher place in the Owner’s Points than those who ran just a few races. By being in the Top 35, they were guaranteed a starting spot, no matter how poorly they qualified.

That rule seemed fine when there were about 30 or so regular teams and 15 or so part-time teams. At that time, only about 45 teams were trying to get the 43 spots, and NASCAR wanted to protect those teams that had full-time sponsorship, helping them keep it secure. Now, though, there are roughly 45 regular, full-time teams and only a handful of part-time teams.

What that means is that each week, there are teams, with sponsorship, packing up and going home. Some weeks, that even means that teams that qualify well are being sent home. An example of that happened in Talladega last fall, when teams that qualified in the top 15 did not make the race.

This year, the teams of Kyle Petty, the Wood Brothers, Bill Davis, DEI and Felix Sebates are going to start missing out after this coming week’s race in Bristol. While Petty, Davis, DEI and Sebates are guaranteed to make the race this weekend, they are outside the Top 35. That is a result of the rule that states that the first five races each year are determined by the previous year’s points. So, if those teams cannot put together a strong finish, they will most likely be on the outside, looking in as teams head to Martinsville in a couple of weeks.

I’m sure their full-time sponsors will not be happy.

At this time, NASCAR has no plans to revisit the problem. Of course, what should they do? Going with the fastest 43 could run into problems if a top-tier car were to crash or have other problems during qualifying. Imagine a race where Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. missed the show. How would they sell tickets if fans didn’t know if their favorite driver would make the show?

Of course, how do you continually tell a team that can qualify in the top 20 that they can’t make the show, even though they are faster than half the field?

There has to be a compromise, but likely none that will satisfy all. The biggest problem has become NASCAR’s popularity among drivers. When there are 47 or 48 full-time teams trying each week to fill 43 spots, someone has to go home.

An idea that keeps coming up is franchising. In that plan, NASCAR would “license” 43 teams. Those would be the only teams eligible to qualify. The problem would be choosing who would get to be licensed. With the number of teams attempting now, it would most likely mean limiting teams to three cars. That would hurt Roush and Hendrick up front.

I think a better plan would be to reduce the number of guarantees. If the number were set to the top 15 or 20, that would leave more room for those at the bottom of the standings to make it in. Surely, 20 teams guaranteed to make the race would keep those in contention for the Chase in contention. After five races, the odds of someone moving from 25th to 12th would surely be rare. If they are that quality of a team, surely they would be able to make each race, anyway.

The only thing certain is that something needs to be done. Teams that have worked hard to build cars and secure sponsors should not have such a handicap as the Top 35 rule presents. Hopefully, after this year, NASCAR will decide to do something about it.

Cinch up those belts and let’s go racing. JR