DOVER, DEL. -- There was anticipation, maybe even wishful thinking, that teenagers
Darrell Wallace Jr. and
Chase Elliott would battle for the victory in Friday's Truck Series race at Dover International Speedway.
Ryan Blaney and
Jeb Burton, too.
The stars of the future.
Instead, Sprint Cup regular
Kyle Busch collected his second consecutive victory and 32nd in this series, his 89th in NASCAR's two lower-tier national touring series, counting 57 Nationwide Series wins.
Enough is enough.
While Busch's ability as a driver truly is respected, and this is in no way aimed personally at him, he is ruining the Trucks and Nationwide series with his domination. He is preventing fans from seeing future stars in Victory Lane and future stars from experiencing those moments.
While his presence behind the wheel may bring sponsors and money to Kyle Busch Motorsports in Trucks and Joe Gibbs Racing in nationwide that otherwise might not be there, it's hard to imagine he is putting fans in the seats.
If anything, from comments heard during a jog around the track following the Trucks race, the domination is turning fans off.
Busch, who has six wins this year in the Nationwide Series, understandably has a different viewpoint. After his latest triumph he said, "Yeah, people say it's too easy to win and we're cherry-picking. Whatever. This is a sport we're all welcome to participate in. That's why we're here."
Whatever?
Perhaps if he saw it from the fans' perspective he might feel differently. Perhaps he and NASCAR need to listen to readers such as the one that sent this: "Kyle Busch and the other Cup regulars do the sport no good deed by racing in the lower series and taking wins from the regulars trying to make a name for themselves.
"Today at Dover was a good example. Kyle beat a bunch of children and old men, while having the best equipment. That is NOT a fair fight. One might argue that promoters want a 'big name' in the race. I would suggest that racing for the title among the rising stars of the future would build the sport more.
"The young ones need to win in order to grow the series. Allowing Cup regulars to race in the truck series is a bad decision."
He's right, and he'd be right if we were talking about
Dale Earnhardt Jr.,
Jimmie Johnson or any Cup regular. It is time for NASCAR to take a stand before the 2014 season and limit Cup drivers to no more than 10 events between the Nationwide and Trucks series.
And even that may be too much.
While it may mean fewer entries into both series, maybe even a few less ticket sales and sponsor dollars, fewer ultimately would be better for the long-term health of the sport if it means drivers like Wallace and Elliott get to race for wins.
In case you missed it, Wallace finished 10th, Elliott fourth, Blaney third and Burton ninth.
Anticipation crushed.