A budget cap, the NASCAR equivalent of a salary cap, could be in the works

A move that would have been unthinkable when the sport was at its peak at the beginning of the 21st century is closer to becoming a reality.

NASCAR has always been the most individual of the team sports, despite the paradox that might seem to be. Drivers are always front and center even though it takes a group of people to have a race-winning car, and race teams are much more independent than the teams in any other professional sports league.

But in the words of the great Bob Dylan, the times, they are a-changin’, and with them come ever more obvious economic realities. Unless and until attendance and TV ratings and the sponsorship dollars they bring reverse course, NASCAR has to consider things it has never seriously pondered in the past.

According to a fascinating piece on SB Nation, one of those things is the racing equivalent to the salary cap employed by most stick and ball sports. Since there’s a lot more that goes into race teams than salaries (though those are big expenses, without question), it would be called a budget cap and encompass “engineering, research and development, equipment, and crew members who travel to races.”

(Interestingly, the article says it would likely not cover driver salaries, a twist that could still allow the current powerhouse teams to outbid smaller operations for top driving talent.)

It would be a stunning development for a sport so accustomed to spending whatever each team can afford, but it’s not just a pipe dream for down the road, it’s actually somewhat imminent.

"Once an idea that would’ve been soundly dismissed, it’s now being seriously considered. NASCAR and its teams have had multiple discussions about such an idea, and the consensus among the multitude of NASCAR executives, team owners and executives, drivers, and manufacturer representatives that SB Nation spoke with is that while a budget cap won’t be instituted in the immediate future, it is likely to come within the next three to four years."

If the teams are willing to sign on, a budget cap might bring with it a ton of benefits. One would be taking some of the pressure off the constant sponsorship hunt, as it would more or less standardize costs for companies wanting to sponsor cars and provide them with some price certainty.

Another obvious possibility is that it would reduce the gap between top teams and the back markers, increasing parity in the NASCAR fields. While there’s a longer discussion to be had about whether that would increase fan interest — many sports studies suggest that people say they want parity but actually prefer when there are dominant teams — it would increase the number of “quality” seats and reduce or even eliminate the so-called start and park rides.

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It’s a safe bet that the France family and other longtime NASCAR team owners and personalities would never have imagined stock car racing would get to this point. Yet it’s better to adapt with changing conditions than to let the sport wither and die, so a budget cap, if it comes to pass, can simply be viewed as a step to ensure that doesn’t happen. Everyone who loves racing should appreciate that.