Five minutes into the NASCAR season, Andy Hillenburg was already a kilometer behind the leaders.
His chances of racing in the Daytona 500 had all but expired. His chances of winning the championship this year? Well, nobody really ever thought he had a chance at that, anyway. Not even the owner of his car.
"We're not really in that group," longtime owner Junie Donleavy said Thursday while his car was loaded into the hauler. He was done for the week after finishing 22nd of 23 in the first Daytona 500 qualifying race.
Such is life in NASCAR.
While the contenders debate the big changes in the points system that are supposed to bring more teams into contention, about half of the drivers remain on the wrong side of a stock-car racing caste system.
"You've got to have a good car, good equipment, good crew and good luck," said Greg Biffle, who will start from the pole for the Daytona 500.
Trying to spark interest in the final 10 races of the year, NASCAR split the season -- 26 races at the start, followed by a 10-race "Chase for the Championship." The final showdown will give the top 10 cars after the early races the best chance to win the Nextel Cup.
It's an attempt to make all the races mean more and get more drivers in the mix for the title. In reality, though, Donleavy figures only about 30 cars start the season with a legitimate chance at the title.
"Then, after a few races, the owners of those teams pick their best cars and devote most of their stuff toward them," he said.
That leaves about 10 to 15 cars with a real chance, and the names are always the same -- no matter how they keep score.
Jeff Gordon, Dale Jarrett, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jack Roush, Rick Hendrick, Robert Yates. Those drivers and owners all have sponsorship deals in the US$15 million to US$20 million range, and they're part of multiple-car teams. This year, Roush and Yates -- rivals who both own stables of Fords -- pooled their resources to open a testing center.
The have-nots make up the numbers. Hillenburg drives for Donleavy. Guys like Kirk Shelmerdine, Derrike Cope and Johnny Benson came here thinking not about the season, but simply getting through the week.
The problem manifests itself in different ways. Only 45 cars were brought to Daytona to fill a 43-car field for the sport's biggest race. The number of qualifiers used to reach in the 50s. Some in racing circles, however, believe the day is coming soon when prohibitive costs will make it so NASCAR won't fill all 43 spots for a Nextel Cup race.
"We're fine," NASCAR CEO Brian France said. "As I've said, the quality of the fields is what I'm interested in; how many competitive teams are out there."
France said NASCAR would love to go back to "the Alan Kulwicki days," when an underfunded underdog scratched together the resources and won the title in 1992.
"But that's not our call," France conceded. "The marketplace determines what a sponsor will pay for one team or another team, and obviously the team will determine how they spend that money."
Donleavy doesn't feel he's part of that argument. He says he likes the new points system, not because it levels the playing field -- which it doesn't -- but simply because it's something a little different.
"It will give me a reason to stay interested in the race at the end of the year," he said. "Because I sure know I won't be involved in it."
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