NASCAR trying to break up World of Outlaws

UPDATE #3 This rumor, originally broke by AutoRacing1.com, is upgraded to 'fact' with today's announcement. 09/23/05 Chris Powell, general manager of Las Vegas Motor Speedway, said Thursday he has talked to both groups about racing at the dirt track next year. "The new series has two heavyweights in Steve Kinser and Danny Lasoski," he said. ''A lot of weight goes along with Kinser's name, but the Boundless Group (that owns the Outlaws) says they've signed six of their top 11 drivers for next year based on today's standings. "It will be interesting to see how it all shakes out. We're going to give it a hard look."

Powell said he'd like whichever group he signs with to open and close its season in Las Vegas. The Outlaws have ended the season at the track the past several years and have followed it up with an annual banquet. "That's not a deal breaker, but I suggested to both groups that they start and end the season here," he said. Las Vegas Review-Journal

09/21/05 An announcement is expected this weekend in Dover on a new Sprint Car league called the National Sprint Car League headed by none other that the Pettys. If true, NASCAR's monopolization of the oval track market continues as predicted. 09/06/05 Rumors coming from our World of Outlaws (WoO) sources tell us that Steve Kinser and a few other teams, with backing from Petty Enterprises, are trying to start a breakaway World of Outlaws Series. If true, this is further evidence that the stock car contingent is working feverishly to divide and conquer one of the last remaining successful oval track open wheel series in the USA. This information comes from someone fairly high up in the WoO organization.

The conspiracy theorists all along have said that NASCAR's goal is to takeover all motorsports in North America, one strategic step at a time. Their first major victory was convincing Tony George to divide Indy Car Racing so it can be destroyed. Tony obliged by creating the IRL and that set in motion the eventual destruction of open wheel racing, especially on ovals. USAC wants front engine dirt/pavement team owners to throw away 60 cars and buy the new USAC Pavement car so they can race them on NASCAR high-banked tracks. These owners can't afford the new cars and are resisting. There are rumors NASCAR will buy USAC.

If the conspiracy theory is true, racing fans in North America had better like cars with fenders because open wheel racing is now too splintered to mount a counter offensive. Open wheel racing is in need of some consolidation and soul searching. They already lost the oval track market to NASCAR and with the Grand-Am (also owned by the France Family) there are signs the sports car road racing market could collapse too with ALMS fields getting smaller and smaller.