|
| With the year 2005 fast approaching, the coming weeks will probably bring countless pundits taking a shot at predicting what our great sport will look like in the next century. |
| Predicting the future is risky business. Going back 25 years, scare mongers looking at the year 2005 warned we'd be out of clean water by now, and mankind would be stacked shoulder to shoulder because of a population explosion. Luckily that hasn't happened, save for one weekend in '98 at Bristol Motor Speedway. |
| All that shows is the danger in taking current trends and projecting them into the future. Yet sometimes, the trends do continue, and that seems likely in NASCAR. For example, given Chrysler's recent return to the sport, and Toyota's interest in moving to the NASCAR ranks, it seems inevitable that other manufacturers, such as Nissan and Honda, will want to join the world's most popular form of motorsports. Likewise, the trend toward multicar seems here to stay and team sponsorship costs will almost certainly continue to rise. Many new markets (New York, Chicago, etc.) are destined to acquire race tracks in the coming years. And the "corporate spokespersonization" of NASCAR drivers will probably continue as well. |
| Let's take a partly serious, mostly tongue-in-cheek look, shall we, at how the future might unfold in NASCAR's Winston Cup Series. Here are some selected highlights of the 2020 season: |
|
February 15, 2020 Five-time Winston Cup champion Dale Earnhardt Jr. snaps at reporters who ask him, for the 20th year in a row, if he will ever win the Daytona 500. Earnhardt later goes to the garage area, where he helps prepare a Busch Series car for 18-year-old Dale Earnhardt III. |
|
February 18, 2020 "Silly-season" erupts earlier than ever before, as popular veteran Steadman Marlin is released by Roush Racing. Team owner Rousch promises no changes are planned for his other 10 teams. |
|
March 17, 2020 Plans are announced to build Boston Motor Speedway, a track modeled after Fenway Park. Track developers and former U.S. President Donald Trump admits he's taking a huge gamble with the facility by making it 1.55 miles in length, instead of NASCAR's standard 1.5 miles. NASCAR head Mike Helton immediately grants the track a race for the 2021 season. |
|
March 18, 2020 Speedway Motorsports Inc. unveils plans to expand Bristol Motor Speedway to a 1.5 mile facility, seating 510,000 fans. |
|
May 4, 2020 Hendrick Motorsports builds a top-secret Hyundai in preparation for that automaker's entry to the sport in 2021. |
|
July 7, 2020 A record 41 drivers make the starting lineup via provisionals, infuriating some team owners. "It's a disgrace," says 79-year-old Dave Marcis, who posted the third-fastest qualifying speed yet still went home. |
|
August 3, 2020 NASCAR announces a spending cap will go into effect for the 2021 season, limiting each Winston Cup team to expenditures of $50 million. "We've got only a couple of four-car teams left, and they're out here trying to compete," says Helton. "The four-car team is one of our oldest traditions, and we must preserve it." |
|
October 15, 2020 In one of the closest points races of the 21st century, four drivers - Matt Kenseth, Casey Atwood Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Justin Labonte - are within 50 points of the series leader, 10-time champion Jeff Gordon. Gordon is going after his 10th straight Most Popular Driver Award. |
|
November 2, 2020 Developers announce plans to build 1.5-mile tracks in Ogdon, Utah and Nome Alaska. NASCAR awards both facilities races, but Helton again denies Bruton Smith's request for a second date at Texas Motor Speedway. "There's only so much we can do with a 51-race schedule," Helton says. "The competitors really should at least have the weekend of Christmas off." |
| BACK |