The "ice age" that threatens to wipe out NASCAR's dinosaurs -- single-car teams -- is a combination of the top-35 qualifying rule and NASCAR's inclination to let multicar team owners play the shell game with the owner points that accrue to their cars.

Even though there's ample precedent for owner point swaps, it's time put this nonsense to an end.

Why? Because the surest way to ensure the demise of single-car teams is to keep seeding the top 35 with drivers who don't deserve to be there.

After Sunday's Food City 500 at Bristol, NASCAR's second season kicks in. Instead of using the year-end 2007 owner points to determine the top 35 drivers locked into the starting field for the next race (in this case, the March 30 Goody's Cool Orange 500 at Martinsville Speedway), owner points accumulated in the first five races of 2008 now govern.

With that in mind, there's already talk of additional owner point manipulation.

You'll recall that 2004 Cup champion Kurt Busch agreed to give the 2007 owner points he earned in his No. 2 Penske Dodge to rookie teammate Sam Hornish Jr. NASCAR acquiesced to the transaction. Busch had insurance, a provisional starting spot that goes to the most recent past champion who's 1) not in the top 35 in owner points, and 2) not otherwise in the field on speed.

Accordingly, Busch knew he would start each of the first five races of 2008. So did Hornish.