How NASCAR Could Save The Automotive Industry

Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday

That could have been the unofficial slogan of NASCAR for over 50 years. Part of the appeal of the sport was the fact that the drivers were driving cars that looked virtually the same as your vehicle in the driveway.

To this day, when I see a 1996 Monte Carlo I think of Earnhardt's Silver Winston scheme. A 1993 Grand Prix reminds me of Kyle Petty's Mello Yello car flying away from the field at Rockingham. A 1985 Thunderbird reeks of the raw speed Bill Elliott's No. 9 had back in the day.

Yet today, when I look at a 2009 Impala I see nothing. To me, it is yet another bland and unappealing car coming from the American auto industry.

So what precisely happened?

This cannot be attributed to the COT because, if anything, the COT looks marginally closer to its street car counterpart. Blame can be initially placed on the introduction of common templates in the 2003 season. It was this change which began to produce the radically asymmetrical cars and unrecognizable designs that we see through out NASCAR's top series today.

The reason this was done was for parity. NASCAR had been trying to eliminate any aerodynamic balance a particular make had for years. Long time fans will remember the near constant adjustment to air dam and spoiler heights by NASCAR officials.

With the common template, those adjustments were no longer needed which, theoretically, made NASCAR's life easier.

Lost in this change was the identity the cars had with fans. No longer could you point at Dale Earnhardt Jr's car and state that you had that car in your driveway. Instead, what was on the track was some sort of Frankenstein-esque counterpart to your street car.

Suddenly, Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday had no meaning. Sure fans remain brand loyal, but there is no specific identity to that loyalty.

Few remember that sixth-generation Monte Carlo was designed with NASCAR in mind. GM crafted a beautiful car that was instantly recognizable both on the track and off it.

That innovation is now gone and the added benefit NASCAR had for the American auto industry is now sagging.

So what to do about it?

Perhaps model the path the current Nationwide COT is on. Give the manufacturers an on track identity once again. Let fans be able to look at their Ford Fusion and relate it to the same one Matt Kenseth is wheeling around Chicagoland this weekend.

Give the fans a reason to want to buy an Impala or a Camry. Give the manufacturers motivation to produce slick and sexy looking cars again.

The street model Dodge Charger is one of the toughest, and sometimes most scary, looking vehicles on the road. Could you imagine what that car would look like going 200 mph around Daytona International Speedway?

While this boost may only be marginal in helping the auto industry recover, it would offer a renewed platform to increase sales. Again, they could preach the Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday mantra.

Perhaps another side benefit would be a revived vigor in long time race fans who have felt alienated these past few years.

Honestly, who would lose in this situation?