Fast Times
A NASCAR BLOG BY Kris Johnson
Title battle one to remember – under old system
Man, three races to go and what a battle we have going on to determine who the Sprint Cup champion will be 18 days hence at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Three former Cup champions separated by just 79 points! Jimmie Johnson hangs on to a tenuous seven-point lead over Stewart-Haas Racing’s Tony Stewart, but Jeff Gordon lurks just 79 points off the pace set by his Hendrick Motorsports teammate. Gordon, who won for the first time in 17 career starts this spring at Texas Motor Speedway, could leave Fort Worth with another victory and the points lead on Sunday should Johnson and Stewart find trouble on the fast and tricky 1.5-mile layout. This is shaping up as the most hotly contested championship race in …
What? Oh, that would be the scenario if the Chase For The Sprint Cup were never implemented.
As it stands, the reality is Johnson is waltzing his way to a fourth straight title with little or no drama remaining in the 2009 season. He’s up 184 points on teammate Mark Martin and 192 on Gordon, but it might as well be 600 the way his No. 48 team operates in the Chase.
This is not to suggest that NASCAR should revert back to its traditional point system. It’s a curious thing, though, and reminds me of the recurring trouble at Talladega in the sense that no matter what NASCAR does, nothing seems to work out the way the sanctioning body intends.
The reality is one team knows how to play the Chase game to perfection – and perform – when it matters most.
Kris Johnson
Kris Johnson has worked in racing since 1997. He has covered NASCAR full time since 2005 and is an assistant managing editor for NASCAR Scene.
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Comments
9 responses to " Title battle one to remember – under old system". Post a Comment.
jessydoyle49 said:
Nov 4, 2009 at 3:23 PMIt seems like NASCAR
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» Confirm Abuse Reportjessydoyle49 said:
Nov 4, 2009 at 3:31 PMOOPS,,,Again,,,It seems like NASCAR does not like any opinions that disagree with them, the way they delete posts on here.,,ANYWAY,..NASCAR devalued their product when they started copying the one ball sports and started the hated "chase".,,,It has long been a tradition for racing to award "points" through the season to determine a champion.,,,It looks like NASCAR will be joining Tony George in a race to see which one and totaly destroy a thriving racing series.,,,Tony also though "tradition" was something to laugh at.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportLouTripodi said:
Nov 4, 2009 at 7:36 PMHey Kris, glad someone is looking at how the old system would have panned out as far as the chase is concerned. If you go back to 2006 and take what the cumulative points would have been Jimmie wins by 4 points over Kennseth in 2007 Gordon wins his 5th title by 353 points and in 2008 Edwards wins by 16 over Jimmie and your latest comment after this last Talladega race Jimmie would be leading Stewart by 7 points with 3 to go. Now some fans say that if there was no chase Jimmie would turn it up more in the regular season. I beg to differ. Becoming more agressive in the season means making mistakes, taking chances & sometimes more accidents occur. Battleing it out for 36 races brings out the best in even the lower ranked teams at least it gives them a chance to say hey we have a shot. Not after 26 races say hey Kyle you suck you can't play with the other 12 guys. I don't think Jimmie can stay on top of his game all season long, he seems to win races but pours it on in the chase. I really would love to know what NASCAR is thinking now, now that fans are getting bored of the same old thing every year with Jimmie on top. I'm a Stewart fan and I know it must be eating these guys up, can you imagine what Earnhardt Sr. would have said to NASCAR about switching to the chase. I would have loved to be the fly on that wall. Let these guys race like the old days whoever has the most points at the end wins. It will bring sponsors back, fans in the seats and better racing because everyone has a shot.
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» Confirm Abuse Report444T8 said:
Nov 4, 2009 at 10:07 PMLoutripodi, It's interesting you writing that you don't think Jimmie can stay on top of the game all season. This season should put that argument to rest. Have you taken a look at the 48 team's stats this year? Laps led, average running position, avg. starting position, # of fastest laps, total laps completed? Either at or near the top of the list. While that doesn't guarantee victory every race, it does mean that they will be in a great position to win or finish near the front.
Report as AbuseI think most of the championship contending teams use a similar strategy to get to the chase and then race during the chase. It's just that Jimmie and Chad, so far, have done it the best. This team has been a contender from day one. It's about the level of competition no matter the point system because championship level teams will always figure it out.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportLouTripodi said:
Nov 5, 2009 at 7:36 PMHi 444t8, I totally hear where you are coming from, but why dosen't Jimmie blow away the competition all year long and stay atop in the points and then blow everyone away again in the chase which he does anyway. At the end of 26 races the rest of the guys who don't make the chase just seem to loose the edge and the drivers in the chase if they fail 1 or 2 races put's them out totally. I see the stats and look at them hard but my feeling is that there would be tougher competion for all 36 races, things happen when everyone wants to win. The chase takes that away. I have been watching NASCAR since it was televised and went to races when it was not on TV. Big what if - If Jimmie is the best coming to the chase then he should be unbeatable and win 7 in a row unless someone figures out how to beat him. That would probably turn away every real fan away from the sport. I hope he wins 10 in a row and prove he is the prodigy of the sport but I won't be watching. Hats off to him he's a talented driver and has a great team. I do not know why no one else can figure out how to get their cars figured out and beat the guy thats the mystery.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportRainier said:
Nov 5, 2009 at 7:56 PMHi LOUTRIPOI, I'll take a crack at your question as to why the 48 doesn't dominate the first 26 races, but only the last 10. They are only concerned with making the chase the first 26 races. They make sure they are safely inside the top 12 and then they experiment looking for advantages they can put into play during the chase. Some things work and some don't. So he has some finishes that drag him down a bit as they try things that don't pan out.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportRainier said:
Nov 5, 2009 at 7:59 PMAlso, the way the ponts system is set up, there is no reason to try and get a huge points lead in the first 26 races as you will just lose the points anyway. It makes more sense to experiment and make sure you are set for the final ten races.
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» Confirm Abuse Reportanon said:
Nov 5, 2009 at 11:10 PMI would be watching these last 3 races if it was as close as that scenario.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportRacinGurl said:
Nov 6, 2009 at 12:53 PMIsn't Rainier brilliant ? That's exactly what I was going to imply. Without test sessions these days, they need to test during the races that are safe for them. Do what you have to do to get in the chase and spend the rest of your time testing for more speed.
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