Michael McDowell, driver of the #98 K-Love Ford, stands in the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 25, 2012
Photo – Tom Pennington/Getty Images

NASCAR made many changes in the off-season in order to try and limit the start-and-park teams.  Among those changes were cuts to the prize money for the lowest finishers and cutting down the field in the Nationwide Series from 43 to 40.

However, many of those teams are also underfunded teams who attempt to make enough per race so that they can make it to the next race.

A staple driver in both the Sprint Cup and Nationwide series’, Michael McDowell will not be making the trip to Phoenix this weekend, which is a shame because he is originally from Phoenix.  McDowell has always looked forward to the bi-yearly trips to his hometown to compete in front of his family and friends.

Another driver whose team has withdrawn before teams made the trip to Phoenix, is Morgan Shepherd.  Shepherd and his team have been a staple in the garage for over 27 years. Shepherd attempted 31 of 33 races and competed in 21 of 33 Nationwide races last year.

Could this the beginning of a trend for the season? Continue reading →