Burning Questions: Homestead

By Stephen Thomas, CNNSI.com
November 7, 2001
10:21 AM EST (1521 GMT)

1. Will Busch fields be reduced in size in 2002?

NASCAR officials have hinted lately that Busch Grand National Series fields might be reduced to 36 cars in 2002, an obvious casualty of our nation's staggering economy. Given that at least three of the Busch Series' top-10 teams -- the No. 17, 48 and 74 cars -- have stated that, barring major developments, they will not run full schedules in 2002, it's clear that the series has a few problems.

It's equally clear that NASCAR can and has weathered hard times, but given that a number of Busch races this year have been run without a full complement of cars, the move to a smaller field might save the series some potential embarrassment.

2. Should NASCAR allow its official sponsors to also sponsor cars?

NASCAR is perhaps the only major sport that sells its own official sponsorships at the same time it allows those sponsors to make deals with individual teams. For example, The Home Depot, which sponsors Tony Stewart's No. 20, is the sanctioning body's official home supply outfit. On the face of it, that's fine.

NASCAR may not be under any pressure not to take action; nevertheless, a major sponsor would be understandably upset if the sanctioning body suspended one of its drivers for any length of time. It's entirely possible that NASCAR has not yet found itself in this compromising position; however, the possibility exists that it might in the future.

3. Will this be Mark Martin's week?

Mark Martin

Talk all you want about Joe Gibbs Racing and Homestead -- Tony Stewart has won both races while Bobby Labonte has finished second and fourth -- but Sunday's Pennzoil 400 could well be one of Mark Martin's best opportunities to avoid his first winless season since 1996.

Obviously, Martin has struggled this year, but he appeared to have turned a corner six races ago when he began a streak of four consecutive top-10 finishes, far and away his best month of the season. And although that was followed by a 19th at Phoenix and a 34th at Rockingham, Martin has finished fourth and third at Miami.