Winston Cup, Nextel Cup, Sprint Cup, chase, no chase, old points system, new one, doesnt really matter all teams played by the same rules and that 48 team has kicked some serious butt lately. Im not a fan of Jimmie but I sure do respect Chad and what that team has done. Like it or not we have witnessed a piece of racing history here and I say good for them!!!
How many days till Daytona?
Well I apparently missed alot this year in the races I saw. I wished I had been able to watch more of the races all season long especially during the chase due to the action on the track. You mention the non chasers were lost in all the hype of the chase, umm I heard plenty about Jamie Mcmurray and his solid runs even during the chase. You had the consistent finishes of the RPM teams despite them not heading to the track with their vehicles until the last minute just cause the cheques had to clear the account first. I guess I was watching another race at Martinsville while sitting in the stands cause I believe we had Burton beating on Harvick, you had Busch and Gordon tangling and a very entertaining commentary from Kyle Busch on what he thought of what Johnson was doing in front of him. I wish I had the money to travel to more events all based on the action on the track during the races in the chase. Am I happy Johnson won not really cause my fav driver didn't win. But that's how it went again this year and hopefully with the shake up at Hendricks today Jeff will be running for his 5th title next year.
I agree we will be hearing about a number of changes in NASCAR in general next year whether that be the chase format, length of races. I just wish we here in Canada didn't have to search all across the tv channels to watch it cause you didn't know which week TSN or TSN2 was gonna have a race. Already as reported on twitter tonight Michigan is removing 3 sections of grandstands reducing capicty by like 12,000 seats. So unfortunately that sucks cause a number of tracks have done plenty to attract the fans back and try and make it more affordable for families to attend events. And now seats are coming down. Hopefully those fans can still go cause now that you have their interest the worst thing to have happen is lack of seating for them to go watch live. Something I wish the Canadian tracks would do when it comes to the NASCAR Canadian Tire events is make it more affordable it just might bring more fans out so they keep growing the series. It's still cheaper to go to an event in the US based on time at the track and cost compared to here in Canada. I will definitely continue to support my local tracks as best I can cause its where it all starts but I will also be trying to get to more races to see NASCAR in the US it is just that exciting.
Totally my opinion of course. And yes I miss the racing season already.lol
I have not been a fan of the chase since its inception. It's manufactured excitement. MANUFACTURED EXCITEMENT meant to satisfy the ratings machine. Something the chase is failing at by the way. While i admit I'll watch, that's more to do with being a fan of racing in general than a fan of the chase itself. Petty won 7, Dale won 7 on the old points system which i believe was a much better test as to who the real champ of an entire race season is/was. As it was previously noted, if the old points system would have been around, Jeff Gordon would have six championships, while Jimmie would have 2, and Harvick would have been this years champ. The conversation would be a completely different one. We would now be talking about Gordons drive to join the seven time champ club. This fact can't be overlooked or underplayed. The fact that NASCAR has implented a circus to crown its champ, only shows the desperation of NASCAR to compete with the NFL in the fall months of the race season.
Is what the 48 crew have been able to do impressive? Of course it is. But what exactly have the won? They've won the chase 5 times. Not 5 championships, they have 2 Chamipionships, in my eyes anyway. Tony would have 2. Equally as impressive. It's why great teams and drivers find it so hard to win, it takes an entire year to be a champ. Something the 48 crew has done twice.
It could be argued that the post-season in any sport is "manufactured" excitement. NASCAR was just late to get in on it.
Of course, you could just hand the Stanley Cup/World Series/SuperBowl over to the team with the most points over the regular season....but that wouldn't be any fun.
Well okay ......... let's split the issue up. I was commenting on the point system and why and how it works as it relates to points awarded. Then comes the issue of the Chase. At the start of the Chase, points then are reset to 5,000 for the top qualifying teams. Points during those 12 races are still awarded based on the classic "Point" system, plus bonus points. What's lacking in any debate surrounding this equation, is how teams race during Chase events. One example is if a team knows where you're going to finish compared to the other Chase teams, your race strategy and tactics and risk taking decisions change. Hamlin's run at Phoenix is the perfect example. They had to pit, while Johnson and Harvick had nothing to lose, based on who was where in the Chase points standings.
If the Chase format wasn't in place, it likely would have changed how each team's decision were determined throughout the event, let alone the rest of Chase races. In my opinion, any analysis or comparison of old and new points system, the results would be flawed because tactics and strategy options can not be taken into account.
This is where the rub is, the Chase - Play-off format. It has its detractors and followers to be sure. I wasn't suggesting I like it or hate it, but it is what it is. And as Kelly has pointed out, even prior to the change in format, there have been dominant teams before it was implemented. There's always going to be controversy and nobody is ever gonna be satisfied to be sure.
NASCAR's argument for the Chase format; competing (entertainment dollars) professional league sports have a play-off format's, so why not use a similar system in racing. I'm still on the fence about the whole issue.
One thing that is very true, NASCAR has in fact, manufactured fan / media excitement by following this format;
a) Bonus points for winning races - which helps determine seeding of the top 12; rewarding those that pushed to win throughout the first half of the season. There were a lot of complaints under the old system that top teams simply needed to finish in the top 5 throughout the season, thus potentially win the championship without actually winning a single event. It nearly happened several times throughout the late 70's and 80's. Hence the bonus point awards. If it's one thing that terrified the France family, it was a winless champion team scenario. At Homestead, both Harvick and Hamlin knew they had get to the front and lead at least one lap to gain / maintain point parity with Johnson as soon as the 48 lead a lap. Is that manufactured excitement? In my opinion yes. Is it gimmicky or fair *shrug*...... When Harvick was hit with a speeding on Pit Road penalty and had to go to the back, it was exciting to see how well his crew beat every other team on pit road. Manufactured or not, that was fun to watch. No different than overtime hockey that changes up the rule to 4 on 4.
b) Considers the mix of race tracks used in the Chase to be balanced (arguable), except the lack of a Road Course; This part has a lot of people up in arms and yelling conspiracy no matter who your favorite team is. Some teams run better at short tracks, than the intermediate or superspeedways. NASCAR believes the most important aspect in picking the 12 venues used for the Chase races - ticket sales.
c) Expanding the original format from 10 qualifiers to 12, possibly expanding it in the future; this continues to get NASCAR in trouble and there's never going to be a right answer for the Chase format. It's exhibit A to Kelly's point of satisfying ratings and sponsor demands. Balance the cost of racing at today's demanding levels requiring millions of dollars to run a Sprint Cup car, I wonder if it has left zero room for any other option to exist.
In my opinion the drawbacks to the Chase, are:
a) No opportunity for a "comeback" for those teams that narrowly lose out qualifying for the Chase (McMurray comes to mind). Imagine a team getting onto a 7 race winning streak over the last 12 races, that generates more excitement in my opinion than the current Chase format.
b) Hendrick, Roush, RCR teams have superior number advantage over other teams in making the Chase, further dividing the have's and have-not teams. Even without the Chase format, this continues to be a concern for me. I think the maximum amount of race teams each "organisation" should be allowed is three on a full time basis and allowed to run a fourth team for a development driver that runs in the Nationwide series, up to a maximum of 4 events.
Manufactured or not, NASCAR has stiff competition for dollars and as I said before, I have to give them credit for trying various concepts. It sure beats being stale and not changing with the times, though I still think they should eliminate the template body style and chassis rules. Funny how I give kudos to NASCAR for trying new things, yet I'm an old school guy; deep down, I still prefer the old system.