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Many of the issues currently facing NASCAR revolve around change. There’s been a lot of change going on this decade from the Chase to the ”Car of Tomorrow”. Issues like this and controversies over the “Lucky Dog” and invasion of open wheel drivers to stock car racing’s top level have pitted long time fans versus NASCAR leadership and a newer wave of fans who may be fewer in number.

It is a popular notion among NASCAR traditionalists that the sport is pure American with a particular emphasis on the southern U.S. When you consider that NASCAR was Florida born and its top legends from places like North Carolina, Alabama and the Sunshine State- you’d tend to agree. These same traditionalists have tended to cringe at the building of new tracks throughout the North and West, and they, as a general rule, are not fans of West Coasters such as Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. Adding to the angst is the presence of a foreign manufacturer (Toyota), and a flood of drivers from foreign lands with names like Franchitti and Carpentier who used to drive funny looking race cars.

Many traditionalists will argue such events are ruining NASCAR, taking it away from its roots. Some will tell you that your dad’s NASCAR was just fine without all of this, and they point to falling TV ratings and ticket sales as evidence to their point. You can imagine the delight of some when owner Bill Davis replaced former open wheeler Jacques Villenueve with Johnny Benson and Mike Skinner on an indefinite basis after the Canadian failed to qualify for the Daytona 500. Then, just this week, former open wheeler A.J. Allmendiger’s NASCAR Cup career was put on hold by Team Red Bull.

Such prejudice is short-sighted at best, and downright prejudicial at worst.

First of all, this is not the first time open wheelers have been present in NASCAR. Do names like Mario Andretti, A.J. Foyt and Johnny Rutherford ring a bell? They all ran part time NASCAR racing schedules back in the 60s and 70s. In fact, Foyt earned 7 NASCAR victories and even once won the Daytona 500. What about Tony Stewart? He came over from Indy Car racing. J.J. Yeley and A.J. Allmendinger are also just a couple of NASCAR’s drivers of today who have made the switch- so this is nothing new.

Some argue that these drivers, by jumping from IRL and Formula One without rising through the ranks, are depriving up and coming drivers from sitting in a Sprint Cup ride. Oh really! So if the likes of Scott Wimmer or Jason Leffler were truly ready for the big time, wouldn’t they be given full time Cup rides? Well, considering the expense of competing and the need to be as successful as possible, I think it’s safe to say NASCAR car owners will put the most successful fannies in the seats of their cars, even if it’s a 74 year old from Botswana. What’s more- these are not unproven neophytes, but accomplished drivers. There’s a learning curve, but the open wheelers are just as qualified, if not more to master the learning curve. I submit Sam Hornish’s solid run Sunday as evidence of a guy who’s "getting it" quite quickly.

Besides, if our home grown guys are so great, let them prove it on the track against the likes of Juan Pablo Montoya and Sam Hornish (an American born Indy champ). Given the pressure and need to make money in this expensive business, the open wheelers will be gone quicker than you can say Patrick Carpentier if they can’t perform.

I know many fans think the sport was just fine the way it is. In this ever change day and age, NASCAR would have stagnated without the growth brought about by the infusion of new blood behind the wheel. No major sport can sustain itself on purely regional support. Just ask the National Hockey League.

NASCAR fans hate it when I compare it to other sports, but what if baseball kept out the Latinos? There’d be no Juan Marichal or Big Papi Ortiz. What if the NBA shut out Europeans? Say good-bye to Tony Parker and Dirk Nowitski. Without the presence of foreign born players, the NFL would be deprived of Christian Okoye and Usi Omenyura. So why should NASCAR be any different?

I, a proud American of conservative political leanings, want to go on record as being supportive of the presence of the open wheel drivers. It’s a great topic for debate and its good for growing the fan base of the support. Think about it. Your favorite driver is someone you relate personally….more than anything else.

Welcome to NASCAR open wheelers…..let’s see what you’ve got.

Maybe it’s all the red paints schemes on the cars. Maybe it’s the foreign intrigue that Dario Franchitti and Juan Pablo Montoya bring to the sport. Perhaps its all the young drivers in the garage. It could be Chip Ganassi’s success as an owner in open wheel racing. Whatever it is- there’s something very eye grabbing and very “new school” about Chip Ganassi Racing. 2008 should hold more of the same for Ganassi, be it for the good, or for the bad.

Juan Pablo Montoya is the face of Ganassi Racing. If you look at the description in the above paragraph, they all seem very reflective of Montoya himself. Montoya made a lot of headlines right from the get-go. In early 2007, Montoya became the first F-1 driver to defect to NASCAR, where he spent six seasons. The winner of the 2000 Indianapolis 500 showed indications of his brashness by all but skipping the lower tiers of NASCAR to compete in Cup racing. After a relatively quiet Daytona 500, the 32 year old Colombian made waves by crashing out a teammate in the Mexico Busch Series race. He made further dubious headlines for a number of in-race rubs and crashes. The most famous incident was his collision at Watkins Glen with the equally tempestuous Kevin Harvick. All the pushing and shoving didn’t amount to much, but the melee did a lot to push Montoya’s unpopularity to an all-time high, especially the more traditional NASCAR fan base. These events overshadowed Montoya’s first victory in a late surge to victory at Sonoma in June.

It can certainly be argued that as the season wore on, Montoya got the hang of the driving. It remains to be seen how his attitude will be going into 2008. Montoya’s experiences in making the adjustments from open wheel to “stock” car racing may prove valuable for Ganassi’s latest addition- Dario Franchitti. The former Indy car champion tested the water late in 2007 in the Busch Series, and apparently felt the call to go full-time in Cup racing in 2008. His development will be interesting to watch as Franchitti seemed to struggle and just plain looked uncomfortable in the heavier, boxier NASCAR rides. Nonetheless, the Scot will have his chance to try his hand at NASCAR racing free from having to worry about making the field, thanks to the top 35 owner points qualifying rule. In spite of the struggle, Franchitti has loyal fans and plenty who believe he’ll figure out the learning curve quickly, thanks to a greater commitment to the sport. Franchitti takes over David Stremme’s old ride- the #40 Dodge.

After arriving at the Cup level with great expectations in 2006, the forthcoming season may very well be hot seat time for Reed Sorenson. The youngster from Peachtree City, Georgia is still searching for his first Cup victory and some measure of consistency. Sorenson has shown promise, finishing 4th in the standings at Busch Series level in 2005. As a 17 year old in 2003, he became the youngest driver to win ASA regional rookie of the year honors. For the most part, Sorenson has shown an ability to run well on the one mile tracks, but has generally struggled in restrictor plate competition. Perhaps the most intriguing question may very well be what he thinks of the path his teammates have taken into NASCAR, as opposed to his own more traditional ascent to the Cup level.

With a crowd rooting for Sorenson, against Montoya, and studying the development of Franchitti- Chip Ganassi will NOT be a fly under the radar team. It seems this team has a Dale Earnhardt philosopy. Whether they’re cheering you or jeering, you know they’re paying attention to you.

One way or the other, Chip Ganassi is on the map.

I had this headline picked out two days ago. The boys at NASCAR didn’t disappoint with a track pounding war at Martinsville. A record setting 20 caution flags tell you all you need to know about what happens when you stack up 43 cars on a half-mile track with a championship and pride on the line.

For all intents and purposes, it’s a two horse race to the finish to Nextel glory with teammates and buddies Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon running neck and neck. Gordon led the way early on, but once again, regardless of some good short runs by Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and even a few moments for Juan Pablo Montoya- one had the feeling that eventually the Lowe’s #48 Chevy would sieze a lead and wouldn’t let go of it. Jimmie and Jeff traded leads and paint, but it was Jimmie Johnson prevailing for win number seven (making J.J. number one in the series for wins in 2007) at Martinsville.

The wrestling match for the 2007 Nextel Cup will continue next week at Atlanta, where Gordon has four wins, Johnson two (including a March 18 this year).

Other observations:

The Pinball Wizards. If this were football, Juan Pablo Montoya and Martin Truex Jr. would be doing serious time in the whirlpool tomorrow. These guys collected more bruises on their cars than a train wreck. If I didn’t know better, I could’ve sworn I heard a collective cheer when Junior gave Montoya a little “love tap” to take the lead. I’d also swear that nearly every wreck in the second half of the race had Truex in the middle of it. If rubbin’s racin’, then Truex and Montoya were racin’ hard.

The Race For Pride. Give credit to Ryan Newman. He’s got nothing to lose, and he’s driving like it. It would be real easy for Rocket to mail it in, but now he has two consecutive top fives to his credit. Junior gave it all he had too. Once again, Lil “E” battled bad equipment, but still put himself in a position to finish well. A tip of the cap also goes to chasers whose title hopes have faded away. I thought Matt Kenseth, Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer, among others, raced hard and raced like professionals- though it was less than ideal day. Happy qualified well for this race, and Kenseth had the best finish he’s had in over a month.

Green, white, checkered. Now I am a little tired on this. today was the 6th finish of this type in 2007. I am going wonder out loud if one unintended consequence of the more durable Car of Tomorrow is that perhaps cars that would have been parked in the old days are still out limping along cluttering up the the track at the end. At times- I honestly think there are a few too many guys out there at the end that shouldn’t be. It’s be nice to see a cleaner finish- Pepsi 400 style.

To fans who dislike Jimmie and Jeff, I kinda feel for ya. Yet, let us not forget Clint Bowyer still has a slim shot, and anything can happen.

That’s why we keep watchin’.

If you’ve come here looking for great revelations, I have none. I do this more for the purpose of record-keeping than anything else. There will be things that seem like big deals today that won’t be tomorrow. It will also measure on some level my prognosticating skills. Ahem, I warn you that my track record is VERY spotty on a good day. I subscribe to the “hand grenade theory” of predictions: if I throw enough of them up there, I’ll hit something sooner or later. Here’s what’s making noise today:

1) We can stop asking questions about Jr.’s number and sponsor. He’s driving the #88 car with Mt. Dew/Amp and the National Guard. I like the green car.

2) Silly Season For Sponsors. Word has it that the #18 car that Kyle Busch will be driving in 2008 will be sponsored by M&Ms. No idea what this means for David Gilliland who currently drives the #38 M&Ms car, or Interstate Batteries for that matter. The Budweiser logo will now go to a guy who doesn’t look old enough to drink the stuff- Kasey Kahne.

3) David Reutimann. There’s word going around that Reutimann could be leaving Michael Waltrip Racing to take on a 4th car at Richard Childress. Officially, Michael Waltrip is committed to keeping “Beak.” Rumor has it that Reutimann is seeing who ponies up the best offer. Prediction: IF RCR takes on a 4th team, Scott Wimmer will be driving it. #00 is staying put.

4) Mighty Mo is with Jimmie Johnson. JJ won the pole today at Dover. This guy can’t seem to do anything wrong right now. I still say this is the most underrated driver in NASCAR. I think he’s a victim of being an HMS driver (which makes him unpopular in some circles), his crew chief has been in trouble (Chad Knauss)- so some label Jimmie a cheater. Soome hate him because they fancy him a “Gordon lite.” I say the man’s a winner. Prediction: His late charge will steal Jeff Gordon’s thunder, and he’ll win a 2nd consecutive cup.

5) A NASCAR invasion.It looks like open-wheelers Dario Franchitti and Jacques Villanueve will be joining the ranks next year, as well as Sam Hornisch Jr. I spoke with a fellow fan today who’s concerned we may see more Juan Pablo Montoya types in the sport. Hopefully, they have learned from JPM’s experience and have a smoother transition.