Happy Hour: Your thoughts on potentially limiting Cup drivers in lower series

Welcome to Happy Hour. As always, you can tweet or email us your NASCAR thoughts 24/7 at the links below.

Y’all were moved by NASCAR saying earlier this week there was a possibility of a limitation on Sprint Cup Series drivers in the Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series.

Any limitation would be imposed in 2017 and if the internet is any example, will be met with open arms by a vast majority of NASCAR fans. Cup drivers competing in lower series races has become one of the biggest NASCAR topics of the past few years.

Part of that likely has to do with Kyle Busch. 2015 Sprint Cup Series champion has dominated the Xfinity Series over the past 10 seasons. Over half of his 169 career NASCAR wins have come in the series and he’s won an average of 7.6 races in each of those 10 seasons despite competing in about 70 percent of the series’ races in that same span.

But while Busch may be the driver that raises fans’ ire the most, this isn’t solely a Busch problem. NASCAR realizes this, which is why it was refreshing to hear that the sanctioning body is taking a “hard look” at a limitation. It already prevents Cup drivers running for points from accruing points in any other series and Cup drivers aren’t allowed to race in the Xfinity and Trucks season finales at Homestead.

It’s pretty clear NASCAR will take those rules a step further, though we don’t know the specifics just yet. A lot of you had ideas about what NASCAR should do, so here’s a sampling of the feedback we received.

I personally am not a fan of Kyle Busch but putting that aside, I don’t think he or any Cup driver should be in the Xfinity races when the Chase starts. Not only do the drivers not get credit for a win but it has to be disheartening when they are good and the “Schoolyard” bully comes along and wins all of the races. How good might some of the drivers be if they were only competing against each other, only time would answer that. As for sponsors let them sponsor a new young driver and not worry about not being able to afford a Cup car. – Kathy

An outright ban on top-level drivers from lower series would be extreme. But also reasonable. The Xfinity Series tagline is “Names are made here” and it’s hard for those names to be made when Cup Series drivers are hogging victory lane.

But it also seems like a step NASCAR is unlikely to take. Cup drivers are a huge source of income for Xfinity Series teams as sponsors can sponsor a Cup driver at a discounted rate they wouldn’t get in the Sprint Cup Series.

NASCAR won’t be making any decisions that hurt the bottom line.

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Let them run, limit the money paid to them. Pay the first Infinity driver the larger purse. Spirit driver bring in a larger crowd. – Billy

Purse money is much more important to Xfinity Series backmarkers than it is to the teams fielding Cup-level drivers. And even to the top-funded teams in the Xfinity Series. A purse limit wouldn’t do too much. And yes, Billy really did say Spirit and Infinity.

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The change I would like to see is when we get to the Chase in all of the series: No one racing for points in an above series, can race in any of the below. I feel like this is a step, lets not get too crazy with changes. – Jimmy

Jimmy is on to something…

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I think cup drivers have negatively influenced Xfinity race results, and should not be allowed in the chase races. – D

I don’t think that cup drivers should race in Xfinity series after the chase starts. It’s bad enough when they compete during the season. I enjoy watching the new young drivers come up through the field and then move on to the Cup Series. – Barbara

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This seems like the most logical solution, as it would limit Cup drivers’ participation in the most important races of the championship while still allowing them to compete in the series.

2016 is the first year of the Xfinity Series Chase. Four of the Chase’s seven races are complete and the last two (including the last race of the first round and first race of the second round) have been won by Cup drivers. Imagine the outrage if Cup drivers had won all four of the Chase’s races to date.

A rule limiting Cup drivers in the Chase could also encourage well-funded teams to only run Cup drivers in part-time cars not competing for the championship and put Xfinity-only drivers in cars running the full season. Or given the prize money associated with the owner’s championship (which goes to the highest-finishing car regardless of the number of drivers), maybe it won’t.

But if we were going to guess what NASCAR would do, something with a Chase focus seems the most reasonable.

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Just need to leave it alone…this is like lug nuts ..boring… Perfectly fine with seeing Xfinity drivers race Cup regulars. Or should I wait for rookie cup drivers to wreck half the cup field when they get a cup ride. Experience matters? – Mark

You can gain experience in a race without a Cup driver. Learning how to race lower-level drivers may be trickier than racing Cup drivers given a general lack of predictability.

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I believe Kasey Kahne has finished in the top 10 six of the last seven races as well as a 12th place finish for the other. Maybe a little love and put him in your Power Rankings? – Marvin

Since the Chase field is at 12, having all Chase drivers in the top 12 has been by design. The rankings open up for non-Chase drivers this week when the field gets cut to eight. Another good finish for Kahne likely puts him in the rankings.

Tommy Baldwin Racing is “exploring” options according to NBC while ESPN has reported Leavine-Family Racing is splitting from Circle Sport. The two teams have run the No. 95 car in 2016 and ESPN said LFR is in the process of buying a charter for itself.

The sale price may eventually be leaked, but only unofficially. It’s going to be much like the value of a franchise in other sports. We’ll have a general (public) idea of worth, but not an exact one.

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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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