Nationwide drivers ponder if there should be a Chase in their future

The Chase For The Sprint Cup starts this weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway with 12 drivers set to battle over the season’s final 10 races to crown the champion of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

But so far, the format is used only in the Cup series, and some Nationwide drivers think their series is ready for a similar system instead of deciding a championship over the course of the full 35-race schedule.

“It’s been ready for one the last couple of years,” Braun Racing’s Jason Leffler says. “I know [NACSAR is] trying to put the Sprint Cup up on its own pedestal and do its own deal. But you have the [National Hot Rod Association] and some other racing series doing the same format. I think we need to do it. This is the second biggest racing series in the country and one of the largest in the world.”

But NASCAR is happy with the current system in the Nationwide Series, spokesman Ramsey Poston says.

“We are not considering a format change for the NASCAR Nationwide Series at this time,” Poston says. “One of those reasons is that points system now is working well for that series. It’s also something that keeps a distinction between that series and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.”

Whether it is working well may be a matter of debate.

Leffler, who is fourth in the Nationwide standings, could see a big benefit if the points were reset, as they are in the Cup’s Chase. As it stands, he is 780 points behind leader Kyle Busch and has little chance of grabbing the title with eight races remaining.

But one driver who would benefit even more isn’t sure that the Chase format should be adopted.

If the Nationwide Series had a Chase like Cup, the biggest benefactor this year would be Kenny Wallace. The Jay Robinson Racing driver is 12th in the Nationwide standings, 1,677 points behind Busch. But if there were a Nationwide Chase, Wallace would be as few as 60 points out of the lead.

Still, Wallace isn’t so sure a Chase would work in the Nationwide Series.

“I would like to see a Chase, but it won’t work right now because we don’t have enough drivers,” Wallace says. “It’s embarrassing to say. … There’s only 14 drivers.”

He’s right. Only 14 drivers have run all 27 Nationwide races to date, compared to 32 in Cup.

“It’s the big elephant in the room, and nobody’s saying anything about it,” Wallace says. “There’s only 14 drivers in the Nationwide Series. It’s because of the economy, and nobody can get a full-time ride.”

Many teams, especially Cup-affiliated teams, have opted to rotate drivers in their cars as sponsorship allows. The number of drivers running the full Nationwide schedule has dwindled in recent years as teams have tried to fund their programs.

“I don’t think there’s enough guys that race week to week to really make it relevant,” Kevin Harvick Inc. co-owner/driver Kevin Harvick says.

Penske Racing’s Justin Allgaier, who is running the full schedule for the first time this year, wants to see a Nationwide-only driver win the championship. He’s in favor of a Chase, but Allgaier believes Cup regulars shouldn’t be eligible.

“If you’re going to race the Cup race on Sunday, you shouldn’t get any driver points for Saturday,” Allgaier says. “It gives the team the opportunity to win the championship. … It used to be the stars on Saturday become the stars on Sunday, and it’s not much different than that, but it’s a lot harder to get recognition now by running the Nationwide Series because of all the Cup guys.”

Richard Childress Racing’s Stephen Leicht is one of the Nationwide drivers who has had to share a ride with Cup teammates, but he favors a Chase for the series, especially since it would bring attention to the battle to get into the playoffs.

“They talk about this is the proving ground to get yourself to the Cup level,” Leicht says. “What better way to not only race against the Cup drivers but also have the same points system they have? See what it takes, see how these drivers deal with the pressure of trying to make that top 10, top 12 the last couple races before the last 10 of the season and trying to make the Chase.”

Busch agrees, even if a Chase in 2009 would all but eliminate his 201-point lead on Carl Edwards.

“It’d be fun for the series,” Busch says. “The top 10 drivers get a shot at going for the championship. It would definitely shine some light on those drivers who are further back in the points that are chasing for that 10th spot, get some recognition, get some TV time – instead of it always being about the 18 [of Busch] and the 60 [of Edwards] and the 88 [of Brad Keselowski] going for the championship.

“You’d have other guys who were in the mix of trying to get in the top 10 to make it for the Chase, and then the top 10 would race it out in the final 10 races – or however they would like to do it.”

JR Motorsports’ Keselowski, who is third in the standings, 297 behind Busch, doesn’t want to see a Nationwide Chase, saying the series has other areas that need work.

“I don’t think that’s a main area of concern for our series,” Keselowski says. “I don’t think it would draw any more attention without taking away from other areas. It would just be a change for the sake of change, and I don’t think necessarily that’s what we need in the sport.”

Keselowski believes there are too many Cup drivers competing in the Nationwide Series, even as he becomes a full-time Cup and Nationwide driver next year.

“It’s just unfortunate that the Nationwide Series has gone down the path that it has gone,” Keselowski says. “It really started, in my opinion, 10 years ago with Mark [Martin]. Nobody addressed it then, and as the testing rules came together and the tire rules came together, it just escalated to where it’s out of control now.”

Edwards, who has run both Cup and Nationwide schedules since 2006, isn’t sure the Chase format is the best way to award a title, although he says the Chase has worked to make the Cup series more entertaining.

“I still have mixed feelings about whether it’s the most fair way to crown a champion over the whole season, but in the end, I think it’s a good thing,” Edwards says. “If it makes the racing more exciting, makes it more fun to watch, I’d be all for it in the Nationwide Series.”