With the economy's status growing worse and worse each day, the issue of the Top 35 may not even be an issue this season in racing. Sponsors are not as willing to shell out millions of dollars in sponsorships making some teams resort to other means to make the race and still be profitable.

Imagine going to a race with the mindset to "fail" - the start and park. It's a trend the sport is starting to see with smaller teams when the economy is not doing well. These teams still end up making a decent profit at the end of the season. Drivers such as Morgan Shepard and Kirk Shelmerdine have been using this strategy for years in the Nationwide Series, and it's something fans will certainly see more of starting in the 2009 season.

Here's how it works: teams bring a car to the race and pay the $10,000 entry fee to qualify. Once the car has made the field and the green flag is waved, these teams will race a few laps, park the car for the rest of the race, and collect the money for coming in last or somewhere close to it. Most of these teams do not have a pit crew to work on the cars, and do not incur many expenses such as the many tires used during the race.

An issue of Car and Driver magazine stated that on the Cup level, drivers and teams who implement the Start and Park strategy can bank an average of one million dollars in purse money just by showing up and running a few laps.

Of course, there is always the 50/50 chance the car does not qualify and then the $10,000 and money to get to the track is gone in an instant.

It will be interesting this season to see how many teams will use the Start and Park strategy and how this might shake up the entire season. Will there even be a Top 35, and how will major teams be affected, if at all? Only time and the economy will tell.