The pre-season owner points swap has become an annual tradition the Nascar Sprint Cup Series. Teams scramble to lock into the Daytona 500 at the last minute, and the simplest way to do so is to buy another teams owner points to guarantee that coveted slot on the starting grid.
This year, the big winners are Danica Patrick, Stewart-Haas Racing and Tommy Baldwin Racing.
It was announced Tuesday morning that SHR would use the owner points accumulated by TBR's Dave Blaney during the 2011 Sprint Cup campaign to lock the rookie Patrick, and sponsor GoDaddy.com, into the "Great American Race."
In return, Baldwin's four-year-old operation will receive technical support and a pit crew from SHR, the 2011 championship winning team. This will allow David Reutimann, who will drive a TBR-prepared No. 10 Impala in the 26 events Patrick does not, access to the same information and technology as the defending champion, Stewart.
The only real loser in this deal is Blaney, who will now have to race his way into the Daytona 500 after being assured a spot since November. He will not be able to take advantage of his hard-earned owner points, while Patrick, who has never even attempted a Cup Series race, will roll into the big track by the beach already locked into the starting field.
Essentially, Patrick will be driving a Tommy Baldwin-owned Chevy, just as Reutimann will. But if you thin both driver's cars will be prepared by TBR, you're kidding yourself. Danica's cars will no doubt be prepped by SHR, while Reutimann will be strapped with the lesser equipment of Baldwin's shop.
This is a positive for both teams and drivers, but the deal itself stinks. Hopefully, Nascar will look at their top 35 rule more closely for 2013 and make this the last points swap in the sport.
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