Is Phil Parsons ruining NASCAR?

1,107,643 dollars that is the amount of purse money Prism Motorsports has won in 2010 racing in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup series. Prism is owned by Phil Parsons, and partners, and they are making a mockery of motor racing. They have entered the #66 and #55 cars in all the Sprint Cup races so far this season. The two cars have combined for an average finish of 40th place, not because they have had bad luck or been caught up in wrecks. This team has found a loophole n the rules, and Eddie Gossage President of the Texas Motor Speedway thinks they are flat out stealing money and racing enjoyment from the fans.

These cars are what NASCAR folks call start and parks. They qualify for the race, race a few laps and then park telling NASCAR officials that they have mechanical issues and cannot continue. They collect their purse money and go home not having to pay for tires, or pit crews, or anything else. In essence they are generating revenue for doing next to nothing.

Prism Motorsports is not the only team doing so, but they are the most flagrant. However, there are several teams using this loophole to make a little profit. Mr. Gossage thinks that these teams need to be deleted from lineup each week. His point is they add nothing to the enjoyment of the race for his fans. On top of that they are stealing his money. The last seven spots in Sunday’s Cup race at Texas will get paid around a half a million dollars. That is a lot of money for folks who add nothing to the race, either for the fans in the stands or the folks watching at home on TV.

Theses teams are getting a free ride of the success of others, and are making a lot of money doing so. Since the other teams are investing their prize money into their teams via paying pit crews and buying tires. It seems that something needs to be done to stop this. Maybe Prism Motorsports should just be banned from the sport since they cannot sell any sponsorship deals on their cars, and they have no interest in competing at this level. They should be sent down to the Nationwide series level, where Phil Parsons has a two car operation doing much the same thing.