NASCAR: C'mon, Nissan, do the right thing

DETROIT -- Amid the dozens of shiny new models, there are a suprising number of freshened or brand-new  pickup trucks. The new Toyota Tacoma, a slightly redesigned Ram, even a Hyundai concept.

But the big news at the Nissan stand was the second-generation Nissan Titan pickup, now available with Cummins diesel power. It looks a little like a Ford F-150, but there's still a lot of Nissan in the design, especially inside.

The Titan was a solid pickup when it was introduced in 2003 and has undergone very minor changes since. Nissan never did a particularly good job of marketing it -- the Titan never approached the sales of the Ford, Chevrolet or Dodge entries.

The company pledges it will do a better job with the 2016 model. but we can think of one way to get it off the ground quickly: The NASCAR Camping World truck series.

A proven model

That's how Toyota and Dodge got into NASCAR -- getting their feet wet in trucks before plunging into the Cup series. Let's face it: The Camping World truck series is sagging a bit, with far less manufacturer support and fewer entries.

NASCAR would absolutely pave the path to the series with gold -- or at least a little green, as in money -- to help Nissan ease into NASCAR. The brand could practically own the series with a comparatively moderate investment. If there was ever a time for Nissan to go NASCAR, it's now.

"We'd love to," said one Nissan representative, " but with the new Le Mans P1 program and all else we have going on, I'm not sure it's in the cards."

I suggest they reshuffle the deck -- this would be a great fit for the series and the manufacturer.