Times have changed and fans are tired of cup drivers in lower divisions

I look at the NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule this season and the race winners and I only see six wins from drivers that are not full-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers on the win column and three came from William Byron.

You can be one of those fans that think that the sport is making one of its judgment calls, however, I think the officials needed to set even stiffer limitations to the regulars because the sport needs a change.  Yeah I am one of those fans that think Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, and Kyle Larson have had enough play time in the two lower divisions and if you look at the drivers that have spoken up about this topic the most it has been Busch, Keselowski, Harvick and Larson.  Why?  It is because they are the ones that have ran the most races the past 4-5 seasons as a MENCS regular.

Mark Martin was a regular in the winners circle in the 90s

Fans keep bringing up how we didn't hear fans gripe about Mark Martin winning races in the 1990s, well I am going to take you back in time a little bit to Martin's winningest season that came in 1993.  He ran a total of 14 races that season in the No. 60 Winn Dixie Ford for Roush,   That season there was a 28 race schedule, and there was only 12 races won by cup regulars, 7 by Martin, 2 by Dale Earnhardt, 2 by Micheal Waltrip and 1 by Bill Elliott.  Also the schedule had a bit of a different phase as well, as NASCAR raced at many more venues away from cup tracks like Hickory, Rougemont, Nazareth, Myrtle Beach, Milwaukee, and  Indianapolis Raceway Park.

If the series went back to the direction it had years ago I don't believe you would see as many cup regulars in the races to begin with.  However, the major venues took the course and took over the schedule and you no longer have races at these small venues anymore like we used to have on the schedule.  Even Mark Martin himself sees that times are changing and that the need for a cup regulars in the series are not as serious as before.

"I don't really know where I stand on that," said Martin when asked about cup drivers competiting in the Xfinity Series. 

"I was able to participate; I didn't run that many races," the Hall of Fame driver stated while unveiling a paint scheme that Clint Bowyer will driver at Darlington next month.  "I ran 14 to 16 races a year for a number of years.  But at the time it was important, I think, for the series to have Cup drivers do the series for a lot different reasons."

"It's a different day and age today," Martin stated.  I like what's going on nowadays, I like the rule today and where they go with it from there I'm sure will work...The racing, the world, the hardware, everything has changed since the '90s.  I'm ok with what they're doing and OK with where they're looking at heading to limit it even more."

Next season NASCAR will begin with heavier limits.  Drivers will more than five years of experience in the Monster Energy Cup Series will now be limited to seven races in the NASCAR Xfinity Series down from a maximum of 10 races this year.  Drivers with the same experience will also be restricted to a limit of 5 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series events, down from seven events this year.

The rules will also make it so the finales for both series are off limits to Cup regulars earning championship points in the Monster Energy Cup Series regardless of experience in the series.   Additionally the Xfinity Series' Dash 4 Cash program four race stretch with bonus money will be off limits to any Monster Energy Series driver.

Many people are saying fans are sour about cup drivers, however, it hurts ratings when these guy's constantly wins races and he's winning events by 3-plus seconds over other drivers.  So it became time for NASCAR to change these rules.  

Last season, Trevor Bayne only ran one event that came at this weekend's weekend Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen.  With the Roush Fenway program not running their Cup drivers like most teams, I don't see this effecting their program much. 

The one thing I do believe that this could have helped possibly in the past.  Had Chris Buescher, Bubba Wallace and Trevor Bayne won races without cup drivers in the field, possibly sponsors would have taken notice to them and they would still have rides with RFR with the exception of Bayne.  I believe that not winning hurt Wallace finding sponsorship and on several occasions he might have had the field not been filled with cup veterans.