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In 2006 Kurt Busch will grow tired of having to deal with the media's ongoing interest in the impact his run-in with Arizona police has had on his life and racing career, writes Allen Bestwick of NBCSports.com.

Costs may not be cut 
Just before the 2005 season ended, NASCAR announced a new policy further restricting the amount of testing time teams can have at tracks where Nextel Cup series races are held.
NASCAR also implemented a tire “leasing” policy, where teams will not be able to take any tires away from the track after any race this year.

Both of these new policies were designed to try and contain the cost teams spend on testing. The reduction of testing days is self-explaining while the quick take on the tire leasing issue is that with tires being such a critical element on cars, if a team can’t test on the tires they’ll be racing on, they won’t gain proper information and therefore will not go track testing, thus saving money.

I say it won’t work. Whether they have the exact tire to be used or not, teams will still be spending all the time they can at tracks where no Nextel Cup race is held, testing everything they can in search of speed. Various crew chiefs have told me that even without the proper tire, a team can test aerodynamic and chassis changes and combinations and gain vital information.

Don’t look for the pace of testing at non-Nextel Cup Series tracks to be curtailed in any way by these changes. Your favorite driver will be just as busy as ever.

A penalty for a double dip?
Expect NASCAR to try and address in some way the dilemma of NASCAR Nextel Cup drivers competing in NASCAR Busch series races. But I don’t think there will be any real restriction placed on the overall number of Cup drivers racing in Busch series races on Saturday before the Cup event on Sunday.

Rather, I’m looking for NASCAR to try and create some financial package that penalizes teams using a Cup driver and benefits the regular Busch series teams. It’s tricky, as organizations like Roush Racing, Hendrick Motorsports, and Richard Childress Racing all field full-time NASCAR Busch series teams. Still, NASCAR will try and do something to help the Busch series regulars compete on a more-level playing field for 2006.

Reaching a limit on venues
Sometime this winter some group will announce they’re going to build a new track in the hopes of attracting top-level NASCAR races. That track will never be built, and if it’s built, it will never host a Cup race.

Where Nextel Cup racing is concerned, the only new venues you’ll see built will be International Speedway Corporation’s previously announced track in New York City, and the track they’re working on building somewhere in the Seattle area.

Given the packed nature of the Cup-racing calendar, and how locked in the current race dates are for existing tracks, I’m not sure why anyone would even waste the money sending out a press release about a new track, let alone trying to build one.

More consistent racing schedules
I like the impound rules NASCAR used in 2005 on many race weekends where all practice is before qualifying and once a car makes its time-trial laps it is impounded until race time.

Problem was it made for too many really screwy race weekend schedules. Atlanta was a great example. That's where practice and qualifying was held Friday, then the Cup garage wasn’t even open Saturday. Crew members already in town for Friday’s events basically had the day off, though they were still on the road in a hotel room and couldn’t spend it with their families.

In abandoning the impound schedule, look for much more consistency to 2006 race weekends, with the typical Friday qualifying, Saturday “Happy Hour,” and support race, and Sunday race. The qualifying tricks and setups and their accompanying expense will return, but so will some sanity where schedules are concerned.

Toyota knocking on Cup door
More and more, it looks like Toyota will enter NASCAR Nextel Cup competition in 2007. Look for the talk over this possibility to heat up over the next few months as Toyota gets its Cup testing program under way.

And also look for the mating dance for teams and drivers that want to hook on with Toyota to hit high gear.