Chase Ifs
9/29/2008I guess you've noticed there are a lot of ifs in life.
Especially these days.
With essential elements of our national economy coming apart like Brickyard 400 tires, who might emerge as Sprint Cup champion ignites more ifs than R.J. Reynolds has butts.
Trust me, NASCAR is watching this as closely as the France family portfolio.
Consider:
If Kyle Busch or Denny Hamlin is the champ, Toyota will launch what likely will be the biggest marketing and advertising campaign in racing history.
If it's Tony Stewart, Toyota will be left with the biggest lame duck this side of George W. Bush.
If it's anybody else, the issue will be if there's enough budget to blow the horn, or just toot a kazoo.
If Jimmie Johnson takes three straight titles, the national media's reaction will be to Hail like Cale (Yarborough) or to snore as in bored.
If Carl Edwards is the man, some showbiz-on-the-brain TV producer will ask him to do a back flip from the Waldorf stage, so I hope AIG isn't his insurer.
If the Chase races are a sweep for the gold-standard Roush Fenway, Hendrick, Gibbs and Childress teams, the sponsorship flight-to-quality trend will leave everybody else sifting through prospects among penny-stock companies.
If business savvy Jeff Gordon wins, Wall St. will cheer with a Pepsi.
If it's Clint Bowyer, they'll raise a glass of his sponsor's product.
If Jeff Burton connects with the Cup, the series sponsor will have heartburn, for only for a little while.
If Greg Biffle keeps it going, his 3 Ms will be Momentum, Media and Money.
If Matt Kenseth is able to get the job done, Brett Favre will be jealous.
If Kevin Harvick takes the title, RCR will finally have turned the Earnhardt Era corner.
If Dale Earnhardt Jr. AMPs-up his performance enough to be champion, analysts will proclaim a bull market in NASCAR.
If only I knew what will happen . . .
[ Next column: October 13 ]
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(I.N. Sider is the pen name for an independent motorsports business-person who has a quarter-century of professional experience working in almost every major North American racing series. The writer is not an employee of Valvoline or Ashland Inc. The column is intended to inform, entertain, and stimulate thought on the contemporary motorsports scene. The opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of Valvoline or Ashland Inc.)
BackAbout I.N. Sider
I.N. Sider is the pen name for an independent motorsports business-person who has a quarter-century of professional experience working in almost every major North American racing series. The writer is not an employee of Valvoline or Ashland Inc. The column is intended to inform, entertain, and stimulate thought on the contemporary motorsports scene. The opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of Valvoline or Ashland Inc.