At heart it is designed as a ladder series, one where Nextel Cup organizations place their young, up-and-coming drivers to prepare them for the big show. But in reality it's something different, a haven for sponsors who want to back the big names of NASCAR for a lesser dollar amount, and fans who want to see their heroes race without paying the price of a Sunday ticket.

This is the strange, conflicted world of the Busch Series, which attempts to be everything to everyone but succeeds in only being something that no one can quite figure out. NASCAR claims it's the No. 2 motorsports series in America, behind Nextel Cup. Nationwide paid a reported $12 million annually to take over the naming rights for the next seven years. So, what is the insurance giant getting -- a developmental circuit, or a secondary stage for the sport's biggest stars?

In all honestly, it doesn't seem to care.

more...

http://www.nascar.com/2007/news/opinion/10/04/busch.series.future/index.html

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http://pictures.directnews.co.uk/liveimages/Nationwide_991_18077293_0_0_612_300.jpg