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Buschwhacker is a term for NASCAR drivers who are regulars in the top-level Sprint Cup Series but who also compete on a regular basis in the second-tier Xfinity Series. The original coinage of the term Buschwacker refers to Anheuser-Busch's longtime title sponsorship of the series through their Busch Beer brand. A new term, Claim jumper, was coined to refer to Nationwide Insurance's sponsorship of the series from 2008 to 2014. In 2015, the term Signal Pirate was created in reference to current sponsorship of the series by Comcast's Xfinity brand. The practice is controversial due to Cup drivers such as Kyle Busch, Mark Martin and Kevin Harvick (numbers one, two, and three all time in wins in the Xfinity Series) entering a large portion of races over the course of the season and dominating the races in superior equipment, taking good finishes, competitive rides and sponsorship, and exposure away from both development drivers and veterans who are regulars in the series.〔 Many NASCAR experts, however, contend that without Cup drivers and the large amount of fan interest and sponsorship they attract, the series would cease to exist.〔〔 Due to NASCAR rules changes that took effect in 2011, drivers must now select one of the top three touring series to be eligible the driver' championship. This prevents Cup Series regulars from also competing for points in the lower series.〔 Before these changes, the last series regular to win the Nationwide Series points title was Martin Truex Jr., winning in 2004 and 2005.〔 Despite these changes, Cup drivers have continued their dominance, shifting their focus to winning the owner's championship. In the four years following the rule change, the owners champions were the #60 team of Roush Fenway Racing with Carl Edwards racing the majority of the season in 2011, the #18 with various Joe Gibbs Racing drivers in 2012, and the #22 of Team Penske from 2013 to 2015 with Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano running the majority of the races. ==The practice== The primary advantage of running both Cup and Xfinity Series races is extra practice ("seat time") for the drivers. Xfinity races are often run as support races the day before the Sprint Cup race and use similar equipment, though Xfinity cars have less horsepower than Cup cars. Some racing experts suggested that when the Cup series transitioned to the safety-oriented Car of Tomorrow in 2007, the advantage of Cup drivers racing in the these events would decrease greatly due to differences in the designs of the vehicles. This did not prove true, as each Nationwide Series drivers' title from 2006 to 2010 was won by a Cup Series regular. The aerodynamic differences of the two series were greatly reduced when the Nationwide Series implemented its own Car of Tomorrow in 2010. The practice is also seen in the third tier Camping World Truck Series, particularly by Kyle Busch, who currently operates his own truck team Kyle Busch Motorsports, and Kevin Harvick who formerly operated Kevin Harvick Incorporated from 2002 to 2012. Busch's #51 truck won the owner's championship in 2013, with Busch running 11 of the 22 races and scoring 5 wins, and again in 2014, where Busch won 7 out of the 10 races he participated in. Cup drivers occasionally dabble in NASCAR's regional series, such as Ryan Newman running select Whelen Modified Tour events for Kevin Manion and Mike Curb, the sister ARCA Racing Series, and local dirt and short track events.〔 The presence of claim jumpers is seen as problematic by some regulars in the lower series, who complain about more accomplished Cup drivers taking the top prize money and thus leading to loss of sponsorship for their efforts. Cup drivers often run in cars fielded by or affiliated with their Cup Series teams, giving them superior equipment and increased resources.〔 The presence of the Cup teams have driven up the costs of competition, forcing many independent Nationwide Series teams to shut their doors.〔 Many sponsors are hesitant to put financial backing behind an unproven driver, insisting that Cup drivers run in at least part of the schedule, which has led to several incidents of young drivers receiving part-time schedules or being pulled from an entry before (or during) a race in favor of a Cup driver.〔〔〔 In 2008, for example, Kelly Bires was forced to sit out the Daytona season opener due to contractual obligations with JR Motorsports' sponsor Unilever stating that Dale Earnhardt Jr. drive a certain amount of races for the team. Other criticisms of Buschwacking cite the lack of Busch Series veterans left in the series. Long-time series regulars and champions (such as Steve Grissom, David Green, Randy LaJoie, Jason Keller, Casey Atwood, and Ashton Lewis, Jr.) have seen their exit from the series in the 2000s, while 2000 champion Jeff Green has driven primarily in start and park entries since 2011. While Cup drivers attract fans to the lower tier series, many fans are turned off by the dominance of the senior circuit competitors over their junior league competitors, with Cup drivers often winning over half of the races in a season. Comparisons have been drawn to a top-tier Major League Baseball player competing against minor-leaguers, or adults competing against children.〔 Some drivers, including Dale Earnhardt, Jr., have also been critical of the dominance of Cup competitors. Many fans, as well as longtime series regular Kenny Wallace, also note the increased focus given to Cup drivers during the broadcast and promotion of the races. This changed beginning in 2012, when NASCAR produced several commercials promoting up-and-coming series regulars. In spite of the negatives of the practice, the presence of NASCAR's top-level drivers attracts sponsorship to the lower series that may not be there without them, adds credibility to the series, and makes it easier for tracks to promote races.〔〔 Many series regulars have also pointed out that the presence of Cup regulars allows them to improve their own driving styles and compete against the best in the sport. The series does still serve its purpose for driver development,〔 with a steady influx of successful new drivers into the Sprint Cup Series: e.g., in 2007 three of the Top 10 drivers had less than four years of Cup experience, eight of the ten had less than 10 years of Cup experience, and only one (Jeff Burton) was over 40 years of age.〔http://www.racing-reference.info/raceyear?yr=2007&series=W〕 All eight drivers of the 2014 Sprint Cup Rookie class (Kyle Larson, Austin Dillon, Justin Allgaier, Cole Whitt, Alex Bowman, Michael Annett, Ryan Truex, Parker Kligerman) had significant experience in the Nationwide Series, with six of them running at least one full season.〔 The series also continues to provide an outlet for former Cup drivers (such as Elliott Sadler, Regan Smith, and Sam Hornish, Jr.) to rebuild their careers,〔 as does the Truck Series for drivers such as Ron Hornaday, Jr. and Johnny Sauter. Although many claim that the added track time gained by running a Xfinity or Truck Series race helps drivers during the Sprint Cup Series race, any profound advantages have yet to appear in final Cup Series championship standings. In the last 15 years of his Sprint Cup career, Jeff Gordon did not participate in a single race in the lower series. Jimmie Johnson only participated in five races since 2007, the last in 2011 at Watkins Glen. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch only won his first Cup Series title in 2015 − a year which was initially derailed due to an injury in Xfinity Series competition − and failed to qualify for the Chase for the Sprint Cup during his 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series championship run. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Buschwhacker」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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