[WVGrandma4Kasey]

Darrell Waltrip / AllWaltrip.com
Posted: 2 hours ago' Folks, I believe this year's Chase will prove a lot of points. (Ha, ha! That's funny. Prove a lot of points.)

Seven drivers are in the Chase this year that weren't in last year's Chase. While two of those drivers took part in the first Chase, who knows if any of the seven drivers paid attention to the way last year's Chase went? The young drivers in their first Chase — Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick and Kasey Kahne — like to race hard. They'll win several races. This Chase is going to prove whether you can race hard, win races and win the championship or just take the conservative approach and try to finish every week.

Here's what I'm afraid will happen. Once again, the most consistent driver — not the one that wins the most races — is the guy that will win the championship. The guy that wins the title could be just like Tony Stewart last year. He won't win a Chase race; he'll just get good, consistent finishes.
At Richmond, it was fun to see who was in and out of the Chase. Who would have ever thought that Tony Stewart wouldn't have made the Chase? At one time, it looked like Jeff Gordon wasn't going to make it, and then at another time, it looked like Dale Earnhardt Jr. would be the odd man out. That 26th race epitomizes what the Chase should be. Headed into the last 10 races, you've got 10 guys that are thinking championship and will apply the same philosophy that they used during the first 26 races to get into the Chase. They don't want to beat themselves so they take the conservative approach. That's why the 10 guys in the Chase need their own point system. If NASCAR gave Chase points on the 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 scale, drivers can go for the win. If they have a blown engine or get in a wreck because they're racing too hard, they're not going to lose 100 points in one race. A 10-point system will keep the Chase standings tight. If a driver falls out of a race early, he only loses 10 points. He's still in the hunt, and everybody stays close. When you've got a point system like that, the pressure is off. You just race as hard as you can to get the best possible finish you can.

If a driver falls out of one race this year, they'll fall out of the Chase hunt because quality drivers like Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth and Mark Martin will get consistent finishes. They may not get wins, but they'll get consistent finishes. The way the Chase is currently constructed, you're going to have to prove to me that consistency isn't what it takes to win the championship.
This year's Chasers will do the same thing that Kenseth did when he forced NASCAR to create the Chase. The sanctioning body had to do something to liven up the last part of the season. Well, NASCAR's going to have to do something to liven up the Chase.
NASCAR has a tough job trying to keep critics happy while making rules that are good for everybody. They don't make rules that are good for one or two. They make rules that are good for everybody, and they do a pretty darn good job of it so I'll be anxious to see any potential tweaks that they make. If it were up to me, drivers would win and be in the Chase. Once they're in, they would have their own point system. You're going to hear guys say, "Oh, we don't like that. We don't want to do that." Those are the guys that figure they're going to finish all of the races and not win any of them.


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I don't agree with the own points system for the chaser's. The only changes I want to see is more points for a win and points for won poles. The cream will come to the top. We might even get a real racing champion.

[3wide]

More points for winning...but no points for finishing 21st on back. There has to be a heavier penalty for doing poorly if there's going to be a bigger incentive to win. Call it balance in the universe.

[WVGrandma4Kasey]

Originally Posted by 3wide

More points for winning...but no points for finishing 21st on back. There has to be a heavier penalty for doing poorly if there's going to be a bigger incentive to win. Call it balance in the universe.

To me seems they don't need to change anything except give the winner more points, like about 25, leave everything else the same. Give 5 or 10 points for a won pole not a rained out posititon.

[3wide]

Originally Posted by WVGrandma4Kasey

To me seems they don't need to change anything except give the winner more points, like about 25, leave everything else the same. Give 5 or 10 points for a won pole not a rained out posititon.

Well, I'll concede a win should be worth more. I can't see how a pole should be worth anything though. Unless they decide to give five bonus points to the driver with the funniest quote of the week, or perhaps the shiniest hauler. Anything that happens outside the actual race itself should be worth the same as it currently is...nil....IMO

[LSC9901]

This Chase will probably prove several points ... depending on your point of view. It has/will/should prove that consistency is a factor for being in the chase and becoming a champion. It also shows me and I suspect others , that the point system as it currently stands is not good. With that said the question is what is a better ??? As always Bob had made some excellent suggestions as have others. In reading them I agree that there should be zero points for the pole. The award there is already twofold. You get to race in Daytona in Feb. and most importantly since you have the fastest car you get to start first at the race where you win the pole. Why get points for being fastest and then falling to 17th place after 3 laps ???? Several suggestions have been to award zero points from some predetermined finishing position. I have two thoughts on this. Everyone should earn something for being in the race. Where would Kasey Kahne be if the pomit system were changed this year ? On a more insane side how about drawing a number from a hat at the beginning of a race and whoever finishes below that drawn number gets ZERO points ?? Now there is an incentive to win.

We will always be here to second guess the system and complain about it so Mr. France if you ever need real help from the real fans .... here we are.

[WVGrandma4Kasey]

Originally Posted by 3wide

Well, I'll concede a win should be worth more. I can't see how a pole should be worth anything though. Unless they decide to give five bonus points to the driver with the funniest quote of the week, or perhaps the shiniest hauler. Anything that happens outside the actual race itself should be worth the same as it currently is...nil....IMO

I like the idea of points for the pole, cause I think it would put everyone on a more equal footing when it comes to setting up the car to qualifity. Not just those that have too.

[3wide]

Originally Posted by WVGrandma4Kasey

I like the idea of points for the pole, cause I think it would put everyone on a more equal footing when it comes to setting up the car to qualifity. Not just those that have too.

I see your point gma, but if you want to be locked into the field, race better. Qualifying is a necessary evil only because we can't start the race 43 wide. Your points for winning the pole should be the five that you get for leading the first lap.

[WVGrandma4Kasey]

Originally Posted by 3wide

I see your point gma, but if you want to be locked into the field, race better. Qualifying is a necessary evil only because we can't start the race 43 wide. Your points for winning the pole should be the five that you get for leading the first lap.

I would agree with you, but there is only one second from first to last. On impound races the car that has to race in, is happicaped. I want to see a race from begining to end. How many at the back only run a few laps and why? Was that their plan or is their car not set up to run.???

[tbalt]

You know something else I would love to see is Nascar dropping the "top 35 in owner points" automatically in the race. Make all teams prove themselves every race so some of these low dollar teams can race more. It would keep some of the big teams from spending all of qualifying practice setting the car up for race while the others are trying for qualifying speed.

[LSC9901]

Originally Posted by tbalt

You know something else I would love to see is Nascar dropping the "top 35 in owner points" automatically in the race. Make all teams prove themselves every race so some of these low dollar teams can race more. It would keep some of the big teams from spending all of qualifying practice setting the car up for race while the others are trying for qualifying speed.

I agree with that and another rule to dump would be the one where Waltrip bought his way into a race. That was pure bull crap !!!

[Nevadastars]

Here's a little comedy article I found on SpeedTV about the future of the chase.......


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