Fan's Eye View ~ Laying Out The Chase Plan
1/27/2014
Jim Fitzgerald
As Charlie Brown would say, “Oh, Good Grief.” I said I wasn’t going to address it, but…
After multiple requests for what I would do with this new proposed Chase format (thanks for caring what I think, I guess), if this new “Win and You’re In/Sixteen Drivers/Eliminations After 3,6, and 9 Races/Having a Final Four in the Last Race” proposal actually comes to fruition, here is what I would do….
First, let’s be realistic. NASCAR is NOT going to abandon the Chase, at least not anytime on the foreseeable future. So, we have to deal with it. If we have to have it, this is what I would do…
“Win and You’re In”: I’m fine with this as long as:
1. This is limited to any winning driver who has declared themselves for the Sprint Cup Series. For example, if we had this system in place last year, Brian Vickers, because he had declared for the Nationwide Series, would not have been entered into the Chase for winning the first race at Loudon.
2. This is not based on the number of races run by a full-time driver. This covers small injuries. Again, assume it is last season. Tony Stewart, instead of breaking legs, broke his thumb. Maybe this keeps him out of the car for three weeks, and not until the end of the season. Because he had
· Won at Dover prior to breaking his thumb
· Had declared for the Sprint Cup Series
· Was able to return in time for the Chase,
Stewart would be eligible for the Chase. The same would apply to Denny Hamlin. If Denny Hamlin were to have
· Won a race before the Chase began
· Had declared for the Sprint Cup Series
· Was able to return in time for the Chase
Hamlin would not be excluded from the Chase because he missed four races due to a broken back.
3. The driver must run fifteen of the twenty-six regular season races. This eliminates, although it has not happened in recent years, a “road course ringer” coming in to run a car at Watkins Glen and lucking out with a win, or perhaps Bobby Labonte winning in a car he is only running in the Daytona 500 for James Finch.
4. A driver must be in the top 25 in driver points. This is the David Ragan rule. While Ragan won Talladega last year, the team was not a Championship contender. This eliminates a Start and Park team which may pull off the miracle win at a restrictor plate track.
5. Assuming there are not sixteen individual winners in a given season, which is a distinct possibility, the remaining positions are filled by the top non-winning point scorers during the season. For example, if there were eleven winners during the season, the top five drivers in points who had not won during the season would gain entry into the post season Chase for the Championship.
Sixteen Drivers: I’m fine with this. That works out pretty well, actually.
Driver Eliminations: I’m fine with eliminations. Eliminations have been going on forever in our sport; we just never called them eliminations until someone was “mathematically eliminated.” Usually, a bad race in the Chase will effectively eliminate a driver. There are too many other drivers to overcome by hoping that ALL of them have a “bad day” too. Here, we’re just making it official with some structure. No problems for me, there, as long as eliminated drivers still race for and accumulate points to determine who finishes 13th, 14th, 15th, and 16th, as well as 9th, 10th, 11, and 12th, etc. A driver’s season should not end when they are eliminated. The four teams which are eliminated after the third race should still be allowed to race amongst themselves to determine their finishing positions in the Championship standings. If Clint Bowyer is 16th after the third race, he should be able to race the remainder of the races in the season and try to improve his position up to 15th, 14th, or 13th, but no higher than 13th. Just as if after the second round of eliminations, Danica Patrick is 12th, she should continue racing for the rest of the races to try to finish as high as 9th, but no higher than 9th. And finally, the four eliminated after the ninth race should be able to race in the final race of the season to try to improve their positions if possible. Dale Jr. is 8th in point going into Homestead? Fine, but he should be given the chance to race for points at Homestead and try to finish higher, up to 5th, if possible.
The “Final Four”: First, I would come up with a different name…maybe the Fastest Four, or something like that. Not France’s Four, either. Final Four is already in place in some other sport. Make our own. One race to determine a Champion, with four drivers eligible? Sure, why not? But, this is really the only place I want to make a major “tweak” to what I have heard. A driver is in the top four positions in points after the race at Phoenix. Cool, congratulations. Now we’re going to rest the points. We’re not going to give those drivers all the same number of points, however. Let’s assume that the point standings after Phoenix were:
1st - Marcos Ambrose – 3125
2nd - Matt Kenseth – 3119
3rd - Kyle Busch – 3118
4th - Jimmie Johnson – 3110
Going into Homestead, the points would be reset, but the drivers would be seeded based on their performance during the Chase, so it is not a “clean slate” situation where the events of the Chase were negated, other than making it to the Fast Four. (Yeah, I like that.) So, bump all four up to 3500 points, and then add a two point bonus for each increasing spot in the standings. Start at six points for first, four for second, and two for third.
1st - Marcos Ambrose – 3506
2nd - Matt Kenseth – 3504
3rd - Kyle Busch – 3502
4th - Jimmie Johnson – 3500
Oh, I’m sorry? We forgot the incentive for drivers to win! A win in the Chase gives a bonus point; much like one in the regular season in 2013 gave three points for reseeding for the Chase. So, assume Matt Kenseth won at Kansas, and Jimmie Johnson won at Dover, and Kyle Busch won at Charlotte and Loudon, and Marcos Ambrose won at Texas, Phoenix, and Martinsville. Here are your points going into the final race at Homestead.
1st - Marcos Ambrose – 3509
2nd - Matt Kenseth – 3505
3rd - Kyle Busch – 3504
4th - Jimmie Johnson – 3501
Now, everyone knows what they have to do, and it’s not a “just be the best on just this day” situation. Boys, have at it.
This plan would ensure that:
1. Drivers who should be in the Chase would be there, regardless of any recoverable injury incurred.
2. Part time drivers would be excluded.
3. Drivers who have been eliminated from the Chase for the Championship would still have a goal and a reason to race.
4. The final race would not just be a free for all where a driver just needed to be the best on one day. The happenings during the season would play a role in getting to the Chase, and the happenings during the Chase would play a role in determining a Champion.
There it is. If you asked for it, you got it, and if you didn’t, well…well, I guess you still got it.
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