NASCAR: Destiny Determined By Reliability

[Panther_99FS]

Your past record is irrelevant....
Blow an engine, cut a tire, you're done!

Oh and, workplace violence, you're done too!

[Terry]

Exactly, the first 26 races are now worthless. Two races to determine who gets in the chase is all they need. There is only a small chance that the best overall team will win the title.

[stansdds]

I am really not liking this new Chase format. If Brian France thinks this is such a great idea and this becomes the normal format, he should change the name to "The Chance". It seems to be more about luck (especially bad luck) than who is a consistently good performer on the track. Brad with 6 wins and a generally dominate car, he's out. Ryan Newman with no wins, he's in. That makes no sense.

[Terry]

Phoenix is over and Gordon has a 29 point lead (real points) going back to the Daytona 500. But he is out do to a little bad luck in the chase. Yes, "the chance" would be a more appropriate name for it. How did Marx put it, something like take from those that earn it and give it to those that do not. Be it money or points it's all the same BS.

[Panther_99FS]

Stansdds/Terry,
IMHO, both of you are spot on!

[EasyEd]

Hey All,

The old ways are not the best.

Lets assume that Jeff would have had a 29 point lead as you say - homestead basically becomes a meaningless cruise to a championship by the 24. Who wants that? Certainly not the Frances.

I do not understand how one can say that every driver who advances in this chase format (which I think I disagree with BTW) has not earned it. Every driver earned their way into the chase with 26 chances to do so and in fact that included total points over 26 races. Every driver that advanced earned it as well. Nobody was "given" anything. Nothing was taken from anybody.

I do not understand how one can say Ryan in and Brad out makes no sense. If you think about it doesn't six wins mean automatically that Brad should be leading the points not Jeff? Lets examine 2003 - Ryan Newman in a Penske dodge won 8 races while the eventual champion Matt Kenseth won only one race all year and won the championship by 90 odd points - basically the last race mean't nothing. Does that make sense? Is that good for NASCAR? Of course you are going to get rid of the crappy year-long points system. Of course that was also the year of Mark Martin's deliberately blown engine while exiting pit lane and not even on the track trapping the drivers nearest Matt a lap down and giving Matt the big points lead. Martin was determined to give Roush a title.

I do not agree with this chase format but I do agree with the concept of a chase - now it is up to Brian to find what works best and if that means kick grandpa to the curb you do it.

Brian France is simply correctly making a statement that Grandpa's way is not the best. It is not maximizing profit. Profit matters more than any tradition - profit comes from entertainment not racing purity. Even Brian's grandpa knew that which is why all of the France generations have worked to maintain some level of parity in NASCAR racing (long as Chevy wins of course and I am a MOPAR guy - think 426 hemi, the wing, etc - I've spent my time furious with the France's).

I was told long ago if I wanted to be rich do something in health, wealth or entertainment because each of these directly appeals to human selfishness and selfishness leads to spending cash on self which would lead to my wealth. Course I didn't listen. Brian is listening.

-Ed-