Waid's World
A NASCAR BLOG BY Steve Waid
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Like it or not, the Chase is here - to stay
Sep
9
When the Chase For The Sprint Cup was announced, I was among many who felt the sanctioning body had taken leave of its senses.
We think that often, don’t we?
Since that time I believe the Chase has evolved to where it has value. By that I mean that it has the propensity to enhance a season and intensify the interest and drama that should be a part of every championship battle.
Notice I said it had the propensity to do so – nothing is gauranteed. Indeed, over the course of the last 10 races of the year, one driver can blow away his competition.
Under the old system all of a season’s races counted toward a title. A driver had to accumulate all points possible from the start of the year until the end if he wanted to be the champ.
There were some battles that were not decided until the last race of the year. Sometimes the final points separation between the champ and the runnerup was minuscule – such as the 10 points Alan Kulwicki won the title over Bill Elliott in 1992.
But, far more often, there were years in which a driver was so far ahead in points he was unchallenged for the championship. In some cases it was decided well before season’s end.
Folks said that was boring – and, I might add, wanted NASCAR to do something about it.
Now a driver has to do well during the first 26 races of the season to make the Chase. After that, even with the points reconfiguration, he has an opportunity to win a championship.
Which means that although Kyle Busch is currently No. 1 in points, No. 12 Matt Kenseth could be this year’s champ. Yeah, the odds are long and it’s unlikely. But it could happen.
Which is just one part of the Chase’s appeal.
Some folks say that this year’s champion could be a guy who just won a “playoff” and wasn’t the best overall – not the one who rose to the top over 26 races, such as Busch, Carl Edwards or Jimmie Johnson. That does not seem right.
But what makes that so different from other professional sports? Didn’t the New England Patriots go 16-0 during the regular NFL season last year only to lose to the New York Giants in the Super Bowl?
You know full well that similar situations have arisen in baseball, basketball and hockey.
No, the Chase, nor any other playoff system, is perfect. But they have the opportunity to make things interesting.
Like it or not, I can assure you the Chase is here to stay.
We think that often, don’t we?
Since that time I believe the Chase has evolved to where it has value. By that I mean that it has the propensity to enhance a season and intensify the interest and drama that should be a part of every championship battle.
Notice I said it had the propensity to do so – nothing is gauranteed. Indeed, over the course of the last 10 races of the year, one driver can blow away his competition.
Under the old system all of a season’s races counted toward a title. A driver had to accumulate all points possible from the start of the year until the end if he wanted to be the champ.
There were some battles that were not decided until the last race of the year. Sometimes the final points separation between the champ and the runnerup was minuscule – such as the 10 points Alan Kulwicki won the title over Bill Elliott in 1992.
But, far more often, there were years in which a driver was so far ahead in points he was unchallenged for the championship. In some cases it was decided well before season’s end.
Folks said that was boring – and, I might add, wanted NASCAR to do something about it.
Now a driver has to do well during the first 26 races of the season to make the Chase. After that, even with the points reconfiguration, he has an opportunity to win a championship.
Which means that although Kyle Busch is currently No. 1 in points, No. 12 Matt Kenseth could be this year’s champ. Yeah, the odds are long and it’s unlikely. But it could happen.
Which is just one part of the Chase’s appeal.
Some folks say that this year’s champion could be a guy who just won a “playoff” and wasn’t the best overall – not the one who rose to the top over 26 races, such as Busch, Carl Edwards or Jimmie Johnson. That does not seem right.
But what makes that so different from other professional sports? Didn’t the New England Patriots go 16-0 during the regular NFL season last year only to lose to the New York Giants in the Super Bowl?
You know full well that similar situations have arisen in baseball, basketball and hockey.
No, the Chase, nor any other playoff system, is perfect. But they have the opportunity to make things interesting.
Like it or not, I can assure you the Chase is here to stay.
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Poll Position
Which NASCAR competitor should be Driver of the Year?
Comments
3 responses to "Like it or not, the Chase is here - to stay"
beth emerson said:
Sep 10, 2008 at 4:53 AMDo not count out the other guys. Not talking about Kyle-Jimmy or Carl. There are 9 very talented drivers in this chase. Watch out folks cuz someone other than the 3 of them is gonna be the champion. Hold on to your hats folks this is gonna get real good. Go Jr you are the man for the championship.
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» Confirm Abuse Reportkevin gautier said:
Sep 10, 2008 at 8:30 PMI am old school so I want to reject everything about the Chase. However,I can live with the Chase even though it's robbed Jeff Gordon of 2 precious championships.It does make weeks 23 thru 26 more exciting than in pre-Chase times. Nascar still needs to tweak the points on pre-Chase races to reward drivers IMMEDIATELY for going for the win, not after (OR IF) they make the Chase. And I'm also one of the many who thinks "No win--No Chase opportunity".
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This feature is intended to allow you to report comments that are abusive in terms of foul/vulgar language, harassment, racial/religious prejudice and any words/phrases of a related nature. This feature should not be used to report users who simply make a comment about your favorite driver, with which you do not agree. Commenting is a forum in which we can all express our opinions. Reporting abuse of others should be done with this in mind.
» Confirm Abuse ReportAnonymous said:
Sep 17, 2008 at 8:20 AMTHE CHASE may rob Kyle B of a championship as it did to Jeff twice Anyone know about the future of Bootie Barker at Stwear/Hass if any ???
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This feature is intended to allow you to report comments that are abusive in terms of foul/vulgar language, harassment, racial/religious prejudice and any words/phrases of a related nature. This feature should not be used to report users who simply make a comment about your favorite driver, with which you do not agree. Commenting is a forum in which we can all express our opinions. Reporting abuse of others should be done with this in mind.
» Confirm Abuse Report