By Josh Stewart-Account managers for NASCAR teams are considering trading their business cards for .357 Magnums. Going the ‘Stick ‘em Up!’ route seems to be the only way to get someone to come off the hip.

In a market this bearish it’s hard to find sponsorship, even with NASCAR’s proven track record of successfully pushing products. Throw any other variable into the equation and selling goes from difficult to downright impossible.

That’s why I don’t understand why NASCAR hasn’t yet figured out a better way to deal with qualifying rainouts. Magically, you can qualify Nationwide and Craftsman Truck teams just hours before they race. But reschedule Cup qualifying with a two-day window? Impossible!

Many companies aren’t going to ink an umpteen-million-dollar contract right off the bat. They’re going to dip their toe in the water and see if NASCAR is something for them. That likely means looking for a bargain with an also-ran team, which in most cases is a go-or-go-homer.

Thursday night at Chicago, Tony Raines (No. 34 Chevy) and Johnny Sauter (No. 08 Dodge) were sent packing with nary a qualifying lap. You could say that the rainout is a non-issue because two woefully overmatched teams were the only ones going home. But that’s not the way to approach it.

It’s hard to imagine the rainout element not being at least a contributing factor in fewer cars appearing each week. Remember, the more cars that show up, the more that take a chance of Mother Nature literally raining on their parade. That equates to more cheated sponsors. Why not just eliminate the middle man and stay home?

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