Could the Nationwide Series be looking at the perfect storm in relation to it's future position in NASCAR?

I predict that 2009 could well be a make or break year for the Series' long term future, with the Cup series COT now undoubtedly the Cup car for the forseeable future, Nationwide's own COT "Pony" cars coming closer everyday, and the economic maelstrom.

All of this means either the second teir touring series could find a new lease of life, or could collapse under a lack of teams, talent and money.

Firstly the shiny, happy positive outlook. The Cup Series is haemoraging sponsors, at this time several teams are struggling to pick up deals for the 09 season. In recent years several teams, most natably Morgan-McClure have left the grid citing specifically sponsorship problems. But as these big name sponsors abandon the Cup Series, could the Nationwide teams be the beneficiaries?

Well, the budgets for Nationwide sponsors are surely going to be smaller than the Cup, but the levels of exposure any potential sponsor gets in only marginally lower. The big headline Cup teams - Hendrick (although under the guise of JR Motorsport), Roush, Gibbs and Childress all have a strong presence, and all regularly welcome their Cup drivers to the Nationwide rides. Throw into the mix high profile and successful teams such as Braun and KHI and there are more than enough teams that offer a healthy return for investment.

Furthermore, as fans become more price conscious could any reduced rates for Nationwide tempt more fans away from the Cup tracks in favour of cut-price seats while watching the same big names

And with the new car coming through this could be the time when the Nationwide stops comes out of the NASCAR shadows, establishing it's own identity and stopping being the second teir touring series, and becoming the other touring series.

Now the gloomy, gloomy doom and destitution approach.

How many sponsors are going to leave the Nationwide series? If the big budget multi-national companies that find the Cup teams are having to tighten their belts what will the smaller firms who's logo's adorn Nationwide hoods be forced to do. Could teams be forced to cut back on programs partly, or altogether? Aside from sponsorship woes recent departures Ganassi and Yates show the way the series could be going. Even the successful DEI teams that brought through Truex and Menard have shut up shop in recent years.

Even without these departures the Nationwide fields aren't exactly overflowing with talent, especially when the Nationwide and Cup series wend their ways to different venues on the same weekend. Just look over a few of the results from the Nationwide races last year and note the number of teams and drivers who regularly make the race only to complete a handful of laps, or at best finish several laps behind. Which sponsors are going to want to support such a series? Which fans are going to be willing to shell out cold, hard cash to watch races that might threaten 2007 Memphis proportions of mockery?

The new Nationwide COT will only make the problem worse. AS the car changes all the old data becomes useless, and with the different cars the data a team or driver can glean from a Nationwide race becomes even more useless for the Cup race. This means that the established big teams from the Cup side might start looking longer and harder at their Nationwide programs. The new cars also mean teams can no longer rely on old rolling stock. They need to build brand new cars, at considerable expense, might the smaller teams also be forced to pull out due to lack of funds. All of which equals end of series.

So there are the two alternate realities facing the Nationwide Series. Could either of these actually happen?