With economy hurting budgets, NASCAR bans testing to save money

NASCAR will experience a no-testing policy next season to save millions of dollars during a the U.S. economy downfall. Crews met at Homestead-Miami Speedway to discuss the change being implemented. In the three top three series of the season, Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Craftsman Trucks, the tracks will not be able to be tested. Pat Tryson, the crew chief for the No. 2 Dodge driven by Kurt Bush, said "It has pluses and minuses," in that times are rough but perhaps the change will make the races more interesting and could end up benefiting many racers. What makes this decision so crucial is NASCAR planned to increase testing to 24 sessions per team, with every Cup track included. A staggering fact is teams spend more than $3 million a season on testing and that money will hopefully rejuvenize the sport during these hard times. However, teams can continue testing but not on NASCAR tracks.

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Personally, not even being a NASCAR fan, I think that this idea of cutting out testing for these crews is great. It is not good that our economy is really struggling now and it is hurting our sports, but by taking out these test sessions other teams are going to get great oppurtunities to rise. Smaller, less strong crews and drivers will now have an even greater oppurtunity to contend with the big boys. The races, I believe, will now be more spontaneous and less boring. Because of no testing on these courses, drivers will further have to show their driving skills and abilities in order to adjust to quick situations. Maybe this is a step that the NASCAR had to take in order to shake up the sport. We will see once the season begins.