This has been a lot of fun to read; I don't get much time to catch up but I am glad I did. However, unless I am mistaken I haven't seen much about lowering costs. We are concerned about car counts and specialized dirt and pavement cars, which is a problem because of how expensive these cars are to put together and race. The default answer for this always seems to be "Hey, lets go get more sponsorship to help pay for this stuff" but the fact is that sponsorship is hard to come by and the amount guys have to ask for doesn't help much. If we could find a way to lower costs it isn't as hard to put together a series that runs both dirt and pavement.

With that said, this task is monumental; it would take a reform of the entire industry almost. Engines, shocks, tires etc... the list goes on and on. It was mentioned that the same amount (or close to it) of prize money was paid out in 1979 as was paid out in 2009 and the reason it worked back then and doesn't now is because the cars and components are more expensive. Yes, we would like prize funds and sponsorship income to grow, but the fact of the matter is that if it doesn't we have to make hard decisions to ensure that the sport can survive without them.

If we could get someone in place (because Miller is not the answer, obviously) who would be willing to make these hard decisions it would be a good start. Yet this person would also be vilified here at first. Anytime we talk about going backwards with technology or taking things away from the cars automatically triggers something in us that makes us think we are neutering the cars. However, if it comes down to the viability and survival of the series we love the most, would you be willing to see them go a little slower?

Limit what can be done to the engines and make them last longer. Make the tires smaller, harder and cheaper. Lower these costs to where it works now, then when the TV deals work out go looking for sponsorship and all of the sudden the sport has more money than we know what to do with. It takes someone to regulate these things however, and it will be a dirty job.

I'm not saying this can be done or even if it is the answer, but it's a good discussion topic for sure.