Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2008 | 9:26 p.m.
Mother Nature is a shrew whose bad attitude is having a negative effect on Sprint Cup racing. And NASCAR is letting her get away with it.
Several times this season, Cup qualifying has been rained out, which has denied teams that are outside the top 35 in owner points the opportunity to qualify. Last week, after qualifying was rained out at Martinsville, Sterling Marlin and Derrike Cope went home after owner points set the field.
Imagine that you are the owner of a small independent team that has a one-time sponsorship for a particular race and a cranky Mother Nature keeps you from getting into the event. What are you going to tell your sponsor? Denny Hamlin has an idea on how to include teams that are not locked into the field. He thinks a short qualifying session should be held for the teams outside of the top 35, possibly on the next day after the weather has cleared.
Teams in this category have a lot of energy, effort and money invested in their operations. The decision regarding their participation in a race should be determined by performance, not Mother Nature.
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