NASCAR: What's in a name?
Submitted by CATHY ELLIOTT

After 26 years, the secondmost popular racing series in America is getting a new moniker. NASCAR recently announced that, beginning in the 2008 racing season, what fans have known for years as the Busch Series will now be called the Nationwide Series.

Is this really such a big deal? Let's put it this way - go all in and shove those chips to the center of the table. You bet it's a big deal.

"What's in a name" queried William Shakespeare in the classic tragedy Romeo and Juliet. "That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."

While that sounds great in theory, it might seem a bit different in practice if, for example, you buried your nose in a bouquet of bloodworms, or dug your spoon into a heaping plate of polyps.

The fact is that we grow accustomed to our names in a very brief period of time. For most of us, our name is the first word we truly recognize. Throughout our lives, it comes to define us, in a way. We can quietly leave our mark with a simple initial, or make a grand impression with a fanciful flourish. Remember John Hancock?

Celebrities often choose their "stage names" based on how they wish to be publicly perceived. The name Norma Jean Baker conjures up a different visual image than Marilyn Monroe does. Whose new CD would you rather buy, Gordon Sumner's, or Sting's?

Which are more scenic - amber waves of grain, or a corn field?

I can't imagine changing my name. After all these years, I have a vested interest in it. It identifies me. When people hear it, it provides them with a mental reference point. They know exactly who and what to expect.

If the unexpected did occur, however, and I had to change my name, I would put immense care and great effort into choosing one, trying them on like sweaters until I found the perfect fit.

It would be my hope that many appropriate names might be willing to take me on, and I would research and interview various possibilities until I found one that was compatible with my personal characteristics and goals.

This method would rule out candidates like "Hope", "Charity" and "Jennifer Anniston," although "Sparky" might not be out of the question.

I was listening to a local call-in sports talk program on the radio recently where callers were quizzing the host for his opinion on how to refer to the cars next year. "We can't call them Busch cars anymore," they lamented, "and Nationwide cars just doesn't sound right."

Color me wacky, but how about calling them Dodges, Chevys, Fords and Toyotas? Or in a pinch, we could just call them "cars."

I had a flashback to 2004, when after 30 years NASCAR's top dog changed its name to the NEXTEL Cup Series. I heard the very same comments back then, but the "We'll never get used to it" train was derailed after about five seconds. I honestly can't remember the last time I heard someone casually refer to the series by its former name.

I think Nationwide is a great fit as a racing series sponsor and the name is appropriate. Think about it; they've been insuring automobiles for years, making American drivers feel safe and secure. They are proud to let us know they are on our side.

Plus, as NASCAR continues to expand its markets coast to coast, the name Nationwide Series truly does say it all.

Once again we are faced with the issue of change, which like chocolate cheesecake is something we try to resist, but always succumb to in the end.

Before we know it, when we reach for the remote on Saturday afternoon, we'll be getting ready to watch the Nationwide race, in just the same way that you look at me and think "Cathy," or look at your spouse and think, well, whatever it is that you call your spouse.

Although if you really want to call me Sparky, I won't object too much. I could get used to that.