The Side Line
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NASCAR’s Chase for the Cup, its version of a playoff system, is in serious need of adjustments, if not complete removal from the sport.
The Chase takes the top 12 drivers in the points standings after the 26th race of the 36-race season, and uses the final 10 races to decide the championship. These drivers are reset to 5,000 points and then awarded 10 bonus points for each win they have recorded.
The advantage of the Chase is purely marketing. Fans don’t want to attend or watch races if the champion has already been determined with a month left in the season, but NASCAR knows that hitting the reset button for a 10-race shootout makes for exciting action.
However, how can you erase a points lead that a driver has earned through 26 grueling races over eight months? This season, Tony Stewart was dominant through most of the season, and held more than a 200-point lead after Richmond, the 26th race. He would be well on his way to his third Sprint Cup title at this point under the old championship system. Jeff Gordon would have six titles by now, one shy of the record.
One driver, Jimmie Johnson, uses the regular season as practice, often playing it safe and using strategy to get top-5 finishes instead of going for wins, which is really the point of racing right? He takes over in the final 10 races, having won three straight championships. However, one of these (2007) would have gone to Gordon under the old system.
NASCAR also needs to change up the tracks it schedules for the Chase. If the championship is decided on 10 tracks, make them the best, most competitive, and diverse tracks in NASCAR, instead of simply using the last 10 that were already on the schedule each year. There should at least be one road course (Fontana), Talladega and Daytona superspeedways, and Bristol, because of its popularity. The rest I could live with, with one exception: include an Atlanta night race. I witnessed the first one live just a few weeks ago, and it should be included in the best racing experiences in the country.
For the sake of the drivers and the fans, erase the current Chase and start over.
Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Oct 9 2009. Filed under Sports.
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