In theory, if Hornish falls out of the top 35 after Martinsville, owner Roger Penske could ask Busch to swap owner points with Hornish again. Busch still has insurance, because he used only one of the six past champion's provisionals allocated to him, at Daytona.
If I were Busch, incidentally, I'd balk at the notion this time. He already has taken one for the Penske team, and in the long run, continually trading down in owner points might jeopardize his chances of making the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
Look at it this way. In five races this year, Busch has started at or near the back of the field three times -- once when a mechanical failure forced him to use the champion's provisional at Daytona and twice when qualifying was rained out. (Under NASCAR's rainout rules, all eligible past champions and all race winners from the previous or current year not otherwise in the field are awarded starting spots.)
The most recent rainout occurred Friday at Bristol, a track where Busch has five victories to his credit. Because he gave up the owner points he earned last year, Busch started Sunday's race 36th and Hornish started seventh. With an excellent drive, Busch finished 12th to Hornish's 29th.
On Hornish's part, that was good enough -- barely -- to lock in a starting spot at Martinsville. But what if Busch had started seventh instead of 36th? He might have been contending for the win instead of running his butt off to finish in the top 15, and the extra points he might have earned could have bearing on whether he makes the Chase.
So my advice to Busch is: "Just say no."
The same goes for 2000 champion Bobby Labonte, if he's asked to trade his 19th-place owner points for the 40th-place points of his boss, Kyle Petty. As warmhearted and magnanimous as Petty is, he has struggled on the racetrack, and he hasn't earned a guaranteed starting spot based on performance.
Theoretically, Jack Roush could trade the owner points of 2003 champion Matt Kenseth, whose No. 17 currently is 11th, for the 36th-place points of McMurray, if NASCAR, Kenseth and the sponsors involved were to sign off on the deal.
What does all this have to do with single-car teams? Simply, it multiplies the difficulty of qualifying for races and accumulating points.
The Wood Brothers, Bill Davis Racing, Furniture Row, BAM, Front Row Motorsports, Hall of Fame Racing and Robby Gordon Motorsports currently field one full-time car each. All save Gordon and Hall of Fame are outside the top 35 in owner points. After the top 35 cars are locked in, there are eight starting spots left, one of which goes to an eligible past champion, if needed.
In a worst-case scenario -- if Hornish falls out of the top 35, and another trade is made -- drivers for the single-car teams could be competing against Busch, Kenseth and Labonte for those precious few remaining spots, instead of the guys they ought to be racing: McMurray, Hornish and Petty.
That's a double whammy for a single-car operation.
NASCAR, of course, can say no, too, and it's time that happened, unless the drivers are actually forced to switch cars as well as points.
We're never going to have a true meritocracy in qualifying, where the fastest 43 cars start every race. The top 35 -- or some variation on the theme -- is here to stay.
But the least we can do is give the Wood Brothers and their single-car brethren a chance to qualify against teams whose performance has been comparable to theirs -- not against stronger teams whose position in the points has been artificially manipulated.
At this point, the issue is purely speculative. NASCAR spokesperson Ramsey Poston says that, as of Monday afternoon, the sanctioning body has received no requests for owner point swaps. And as is its custom, NASCAR will examine any future requests on a case-by-case basis.
That being said, it might be a good idea for NASCAR to take a hard line on the issue, before theory becomes practice.
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