[wardfan]

I think the chase is proving itself this year as a bad idea. Almost a third of the season is wasted by locking in only 10 cars to determine the championship. From Harvick on back there is a tooth and nail battle going on to make it into the chase. These guys may not make up a 400 point gap to catch Johnson or Kenseth, but if the entire 36 races were run to determine the final outcome there is quite a big difference in where they finally finish in the standings. Without the chase for example Kasey Kahne could get all the way to third, but may get a bad break next week and have to settle with 11th place with 10 races left. How bogus it that. It just seems stupid to lock out so many drivers with a third of the season left. I agree with some who have said the chase is all about trying to create excitement to get viewers away from the NFL which starts this week. I say screw the chase, give more points for a win and race all 36 races and the best man over all will be the champion.

[Quality88]

Originally Posted by wardfan

I think the chase is proving itself this year as a bad idea. Almost a third of the season is wasted by locking in only 10 cars to determine the championship. From Harvick on back there is a tooth and nail battle going on to make it into the chase. These guys may not make up a 400 point gap to catch Johnson or Kenseth, but if the entire 36 races were run to determine the final outcome there is quite a big difference in where they finally finish in the standings. Without the chase for example Kasey Kahne could get all the way to third, but may get a bad break next week and have to settle with 11th place with 10 races left. How bogus it that. It just seems stupid to lock out so many drivers with a third of the season left. I agree with some who have said the chase is all about trying to create excitement to get viewers away from the NFL which starts this week. I say screw the chase, give more points for a win and race all 36 races and the best man over all will be the champion.

I could live with that.

[Bob Tanner]

Originally Posted by wardfan

I think the chase is proving itself this year as a bad idea. Almost a third of the season is wasted by locking in only 10 cars to determine the championship. From Harvick on back there is a tooth and nail battle going on to make it into the chase. These guys may not make up a 400 point gap to catch Johnson or Kenseth, but if the entire 36 races were run to determine the final outcome there is quite a big difference in where they finally finish in the standings. Without the chase for example Kasey Kahne could get all the way to third, but may get a bad break next week and have to settle with 11th place with 10 races left. How bogus it that. It just seems stupid to lock out so many drivers with a third of the season left. I agree with some who have said the chase is all about trying to create excitement to get viewers away from the NFL which starts this week. I say screw the chase, give more points for a win and race all 36 races and the best man over all will be the champion.

Blasphemy! Uttering the term, "Bad idea" and NA$CAR in the same sentence? What's THAT all about?

Actually I couldn't agree with you more. However, Brian France has pandered to a group of people who feel that stock car racing isn't enough. You have to have DRAMA also. In fact, if truth be known, the DRAMA (caps added for even additional dramatic affect) is deemed more important than the competition.

My personal feeling is: screw the DRAMA. When I want DRAMA I'll read Alfred Hitchcock, Jonathan Kellerman, or Dean Koontz. But, when I sit down to watch a NASCAR race, I want action, competition and excitement. For example I find absolutely nothing thrilling about watching a gas-mileage race at Michigan, wondering "Does he have enough gas or doesn't he?"

I agree. Give them more points up front (see my post in the "Kahne still in 11th" thread), but I'd go even one more: Take about $6.5 million out of the money they give at the banquet and divide it up among the regular season races as additional money to win. That high-paying championship has made the final season standings secondary to the actual racing. I'd much rather see good racing than a funky acceptance speech in the first week of December in NYC.

But then, maybe I'm out of step with today's fan?

[TN_Gal]

Originally Posted by wardfan

I think the chase is proving itself this year as a bad idea. Almost a third of the season is wasted by locking in only 10 cars to determine the championship. From Harvick on back there is a tooth and nail battle going on to make it into the chase. These guys may not make up a 400 point gap to catch Johnson or Kenseth, but if the entire 36 races were run to determine the final outcome there is quite a big difference in where they finally finish in the standings. Without the chase for example Kasey Kahne could get all the way to third, but may get a bad break next week and have to settle with 11th place with 10 races left. How bogus it that. It just seems stupid to lock out so many drivers with a third of the season left. I agree with some who have said the chase is all about trying to create excitement to get viewers away from the NFL which starts this week. I say screw the chase, give more points for a win and race all 36 races and the best man over all will be the champion.

Here-Here.... I never heard the expression "close only counts in horeshoes and hand grenades AND RACING?"

I have posted before. He who wins the most races wins the trophy..that's the way it ought to be

[Dupont4five]

Originally Posted by TN_Gal

Here-Here.... I never heard the expression "close only counts in horeshoes and hand grenades AND RACING?"

I have posted before. He who wins the most races wins the trophy..that's the way it ought to be

Then Ryan Newman should have won in 2003

[WVGrandma4Kasey]

Originally Posted by Dupont4five

Then Ryan Newman should have won in 2003

Kahne proves NASCAR needs an emphasis on winning

/ Associated Press
Posted: 2 hours ago

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - Ryan Newman won a series-high eight races in 2003, yet never contended for the NASCAR championship.
He finished a distant sixth in the standings - seven DNF's that year probably contributed to Newman never challenging Matt Kenseth for the title - but found little fault with a points system that failed to reward his numerous visits to Victory Lane.
"I don't think there's anything wrong with the structure of the points system right now," Newman said late that season. "The champion should be a champion in all respects, and consistency is a big part of being a Cup champion."
That hasn't changed three seasons later, even under NASCAR's new Chase for the championship format.
Kasey Kahne scored his series-best fifth victory Sunday night in California, but the dominating run failed to push him into the top 10 in the standings. He's still 30 points out with only one more chance to race his way into Nextel Cup title contention.
Kahne will need a flawless run next weekend at Richmond International Raceway to make it, coupled with one of the drivers ahead of him faltering just a little. Among those mathematically eligible to fall out of Chase contention are Jeff Burton and Mark Martin, who both sit inside the top 10 despite not having a single win this season.
Yes, Burton and Martin have earned their rankings through both attrition and consistency - the exact same gameplan NASCAR frowned upon when it changed its title-deciding format.
The Chase was launched the season after Kenseth won his title, when he handily wrapped it up a week before the season finale. He did it through nondescript consistency, with just one win that entire year.
Newman, meanwhile, was winning poles (11 of them) and races but couldn't come close to catching Kenseth because the aggressive driving that put him into Victory Lane also kept him out of it. Newman balanced almost all of his wins with a harrowing accident - from flipping his car, to catching on fire to finding himself stuck on his side while he impatiently waited to be rescued.
It's hard to argue that Newman's erratic season was championship-worthy, but it had to be better than a sixth-place finish in the final standings.
Now Kahne finds himself in the same situation. Only instead of claiming sixth-place prize money as Newman did, the Chase might relegate Kahne to 11th - or worse - if he fails to make the postseason.
There's something fundamentally wrong with that.
Purists believe otherwise, and argue that the season-long consistency-based system was perfectly fine from NASCAR's inception all the way up until the Chase was born at the start of 2004. But in devising a new format, NASCAR itself was admitting that its leaders believed the old way was no longer the best way.
But in "fixing" it, NASCAR failed to place a premium on winning.
It hurt Jeff Gordon last year, who had three wins - including the daddy of them all Daytona 500 - when he failed to make the Chase, and it might do the same to Kahne this year. He could win again Saturday night in Richmond, but unless he gains 30 points on Burton, he won't make it.
So six wins in 26 races might not be championship-worthy under this system, and that's ridiculous.
Of course, Kahne has only himself to blame for this, with only one top 10 during a seven-week summer swoon. It dropped him from third in the standings to his current predicament, where he's put himself in the desperate, must-win mode he took to California.
"I came here telling myself `You gotta win. You gotta win. You gotta lead laps. That's all you can do if you want to make this Chase,"' he said. "Those other guys we're going against, they're in the top 10, top 12 for a reason. You're not just going to score 80 more points than them on a weekend. It's not going to happen."
For the third-straight season, Kahne now heads into the final qualifier on the Chase bubble. Although he didn't deserve to make it the last two years, he most certainly has this year.
NASCAR chairman Brian France wants to make adjustments to the Chase after this year, and rewarding winners is an excellent start.
Under the old system, Kahne would have had 10 more races to try to win the title and a run of wins would have likely thrust him back into contention. But under France's Chase, he has just one more race to make it in. If he fails, he could win the last 10 races of the year and still wind up no better than 11th in the points.
Some argue that rewarding winners won't make a difference, but the math proves otherwise. If Kahne got just a 25-point bonus for each of his five wins, he'd be ahead of two-time champion Tony Stewart and the winless Burton and Martin right now.
The time is now for NASCAR to put the emphasis back on winning. After all, isn't that the point of racing each week?

[indyNASCARgirl]

If they didn't have the chase, Jeff Gordon WOULD be a five time champ by now! No way Kurt Busch would've won!

[Bob Tanner]

Originally Posted by indyNASCARgirl

If they didn't have the chase, Jeff Gordon WOULD be a five time champ by now! No way Kurt Busch would've won!

Not wanting to be trite, but...

IF a frog had three foot-long legs, it wouldn't bump its butt everytime it hopped. <G>

[Dupont4five]

Originally Posted by indyNASCARgirl

If they didn't have the chase, Jeff Gordon WOULD be a five time champ by now! No way Kurt Busch would've won!

Yeah, im still recovering from that.

[TN_Gal]

Originally Posted by Dupont4five

Then Ryan Newman should have won in 2003

SO BE IT ....

[Quality88]

There was nothing wrong with the points system to begin with. Kenseth had a trophy because of his consistency which many championships have been one by. Yes even Gordon would have one(I shudder saying that). It's just that idiot France finding a way to make money and.... ah hell with it. I'm gettin another drink





http://www.smileycentral.com/sig.jsp...p=ZNxpt237YYUS

[Nevadastars]

Originally Posted by indyNASCARgirl

If they didn't have the chase, Jeff Gordon WOULD be a five time champ by now!

And he would STILL be a jerk.......

[Quality88]

Originally Posted by Nevadastars

And he would STILL be a jerk.......

http://www.smileycentral.com/sig.jsp...p=ZNxpt237YYUS

[LSC9901]

Originally Posted by WVGrandma4Kasey

Some argue that rewarding winners won't make a difference, but the math proves otherwise. If Kahne got just a 25-point bonus for each of his five wins, he'd be ahead of two-time champion Tony Stewart and the winless Burton and Martin right now.
The time is now for NASCAR to put the emphasis back on winning. After all, isn't that the point of racing each week?

To a degree I disagree. I do think that the point system needs modification. I would guess that there are many who also feel the same way. Until that happens the current system is the best we have. My disagreement is that consistency should be rewarded. If a baseball team in one division wins enough games to be in second place in their division this allows them the chance to be the wild card team. Even though they may be 2nd in their division they may have a better record than the 1st place teams in the other divisions of their league. The way the rules are set up they are allowed to participate in the playoffs because they earned the wild card even though they beat the other 1st place teams. In effect it was their consistency that allows them to move on and possibly win the world series. I feel that in our chosen sport, consistency is very important and as I've said many times the consistency of being in the top 10 is far better than 4 wins and 7 DNF's along with an occassional 35th or lower finish.

[WVGrandma4Kasey]

Originally Posted by LSC9901

To a degree I disagree. I do think that the point system needs modification. I would guess that there are many who also feel the same way. Until that happens the current system is the best we have. My disagreement is that consistency should be rewarded. If a baseball team in one division wins enough games to be in second place in their division this allows them the chance to be the wild card team. Even though they may be 2nd in their division they may have a better record than the 1st place teams in the other divisions of their league. The way the rules are set up they are allowed to participate in the playoffs because they earned the wild card even though they beat the other 1st place teams. In effect it was their consistency that allows them to move on and possibly win the world series. I feel that in our chosen sport, consistency is very important and as I've said many times the consistency of being in the top 10 is far better than 4 wins and 7 DNF's along with an occassional 35th or lower finish.

LSC, don't you see, quote "consistency is very important and as I've said many times the consistency of being in the top 10 is far better then 4 wins and 7 DNF's" That's what is killing the racing. I want to see someone race to win. The Hell with consistency, get on the track and get it on. Reward the winner and reward the driver that gives it all to set on the pole. I'm sick of saving the tires and driving for points. I was raised on dirt track, none of my guys would of given one hoot for consistency, they were there to win.