This is the Stattmann Baby!!  Time to Scatt a little bit.

This new NASCAR television package is incredible for fans of NASCAR racing.  We now have the real possibility of all NASCAR All-the-Time especially through the new media opportunities available at Disney, ABC and ESPN.

But you in New York, Virginia and the Pacific Northwest should listen closely to what’s NOT being said in the deal’s aftermath. 

A friend this week made me aware that bringing in all those networks and assigning them numbers of races appears to mean that NASCAR is further capping its season at 36 races a year.

More could reopen bargaining to determine who would broadcast those races and how much they would cost.  Is a New York race equal to one in Portland or Seattle?

There are two events at Martinsville, a track owned by NASCAR’s corporate arm, but moving them could bring upheaval to NASCAR’s Virginia-based Heart and Soul.

My issue is this: the racing competition is taking a further back seat to marketing and politics.  And we all know the stains that appear when money and politics become Job One in any cultural process.

NASCAR’s always wanted to be equal to the NFL.  Forget fan base, maybe THIS is how it plans to do it.

Peace…