Fan's Eye View ~ The New Chase Is The New Excitement10/9/2014 |
Before we start, I ‘d
like to say that it has been a wonderful two years writing and building this
site from nothing, and then attracting the likes of PattyKay Lilley and Kevin
Abraham as writers. I could not have been
more fortunate. Oh, I’m not planning on
going anywhere, but a warning for this column is warranted. I should have parenthetically entitled it,
“I’m Sorry, Mama, I Hope You Still Love Me.
Please Don’t Go.” While I’m not certain whether or not there is any scientific
evidence or even a semi-loaded finger to point, I think it might be safe to say
that if there is a group of sports fans that fights to ward off change to its favorite
sport more than any other, you’d think it would have to be the NASCAR
fans. After all, when it comes to sports
and the longevity of other professional versions ,
remember that NASCAR is still really an adolescent in a room full of fully
grown adults. It is still finding its
way and needs to make changes every now and then. Did you know in 1883, a touchdown in football
was four points? So, there you go…even football makes changes. When it comes to NASCAR, however, it seems we
make a lot of changes, and we make them often.
Well, that’s understandable…our playing field isn’t 100 yards long every
week, and you’re not always safe if you travel 90 feet without getting tagged.
The football and baseball and basketball have basically been unchanged for the
memorable past. Our ball, the car, if you will, changes just about every
year. But you know it’s not those
changes we’re fighting for the most part, right? Of course, you’re a smart fan. That’s why you come to Race Fans Forever to
read. (Score: 5 Brownie Points) We’re talking about the bigger changes, and let’s get the
500 pound elephant in the room identified and tagged. The Chase. It seems to me that those who hold the hard
cards of NASCAR Fandom (Yes…it is a word…) have chosen to dislike the Chase,
some for valid reason, and some for the pure fact that it’s something new. For every five comments I would hear
complaining about it, there is another praising it. And for every good comment I saw, there were
five detractors posting a negative thought about it. Well, at least there was. There seems to be a see-saw, or teeter-totter, or whatever
you have chosen or have been brought up to call it, in the playground. You know what it is. It’s that long plank of wood that teeters and
totters on some kind of fulcrum. One kid
sits on one side, and another kid sits on the other side. They take turns pushing off from the ground
and riding into the air, which forces the other kid back down to the
ground. Or in some cases, two kids sit
on one side and the fat kid sits on the other and the two kids' main goal is to
weigh enough to put the fat kid up off the ground, and then get off of the thing
as fast as possible so it sends the fat kid crashing to the earth at a speed
not unlike that of the landing capsule of the ill-fated Apollo 13 space
craft. (Wow, I guess that was a little
graphic…and maybe a little too personal, too.)
Anyway, you get the idea. It’s a
balance toy where the players work in tandem to bring themselves up in the air,
and then back down to the ground. As for the NASCAR Chase teeter-totter, the fat kid, for a
long time, seemed to be firmly planted on the “against” side of the apparatus.
But now…four races and four eliminations into the fray, it seems as if there
are more and more kids piling on the other side to get the fat kid off the
ground and even out the balance.
Okay…enough with the playground talk… And maybe it is all because it comes down to common sense or
logic, or maybe even that not really that much has changed at all, and what has
changed, may actually be for the better? Let’s break it down… “I don’t like the eliminations.” Why? Eliminations
have been happening naturally since the beginning of our sport. It all comes down to number of races left and
how many points a driver is behind, and if you want to read the details, you
can check
this out, but once the maximum number of points per race multiplied by the
number of races remaining becomes a larger number than the number of points a
driver is behind the leader, that driver was mathematically eliminated from
Championship contention. On top of all
that, NASCAR has thrown us all a bone as well.
Remember the first race of the Chase last year? Chase drivers Joey Logano and Dale Earnhardt,
Jr. both experienced issues, and their seasons were essentially over. This year, if that had happened, Mr. Logano
and Mr. Earnhardt would still be behind, BUT…and it’s a big but, this new
format allows for an immediate cure, and
if either or both of the two aforementioned drivers won either of the next two
races, they would be redeemed and advance to the next round. We’re looking at a situation like that now
with Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne, Brad Keselowski, and Earnhardt. All had bad days at Kansas. It would not surprise me to see one or two of
them score wins and come back from the dead, so to speak. “The eliminations are not eliminations.
They still get to race.” And they always have.
This is not a change. Last year,
were the cars of Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth the only two cars on the track
at Homestead? No, there were 41 others
out there as well, just as there have always been drivers running who were not
eligible, or capable, of winning the Championship. Gee, you might think of them now as
“eliminated from Championship contention.” “If my driver gets eliminated, I’m not going to watch anymore.” Then I’m guessing all those years that Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
or Clint Bowyer, or Martin Truex, Jr., or Carl Edwards, or Tony Stewart, or Kasey
Kahne, or any other driver you may have liked was 9th or worse in
the points with five races remaining, you stopped watching? First of all, that makes you a bad fan, and
secondly, there’s still nothing different happening this year as far as drivers
unable to win the Championship than what has been going on since the series
began. Remember, even in the old Latford system, (175 to win, 170 for second, 165 for third,
etc., and five point bonuses for leading a lap and also the most laps) if a
driver gets past the halfway point of the season and has no starts, they would
have been mathematically eliminated from the Championship. Magic Numbers again… “I don’t like how the dominant driver throughout the season may not win
the Championship because of the final race at Homestead.” This may be the best change ever. Did you know the California Angels had the
best record in Major League Baseball this season? They had 98 wins, meaning they won more than
60% of the games played. Should MLB have
given them the World Series trophy right then and there? No, because there are other teams and playoff
involved. Playoffs in which the Angels
are no longer involved, it should be noted.
Remember a few years ago when the New England Patriots went the entire
season without losing a game? They went
16-0! Then they won two playoff
games! 18-0! The commissioner should have given them the
old Lombardi Trophy right there, right?
No, because the Championship game had not been played yet. The New York Giants stood in their way and in
order to win, the Patriots still had to outplay, outperform, and yes…OUT POINT,
the Giants. They most certainly did not
do that, and the Giants won the SuperBowl and the
Championship. Of all major sports, none
of them declare a seasonal Champion before the final game is played. Now NASCAR won’t be crowning a Champion after
Phoenix, or Texas, or anywhere else. It
won’t happen until it happens at Homestead. “I don’t like how the Championship for a driver can be decided, or
ruined, in one race. What if something
happens?” Umm, welcome to NASCAR?
Folks, there are 43 cars out there on the track. Things are bound to happen. This has nothing to do with having four cars
out on the track all with the same amount of points at the start of the
race. What did Jimmie Johnson need to
do last year to ensure Championship number six?
He had to finish 23rd or better. Oh, the tension and drama. … … …
So, yeah…anyway, Johnson finished 9th, and won his sixth
Championship, and made a lot of yellow smoke in the Florida night. But, but, but…what if something
happened? What if someone had checked up
in front of Johnson and he couldn’t slow down and got damage? What if he had mechanical issues? (You mean
like in 2012?) What if, what if, what if?
What if Matt Kenseth had not had a horrible Phoenix race last year?
Well, then I guess his Championship would not have been decided by one bad
race. What if Ernie Irvan hadn’t cut
that tire down at Atlanta in 1992 and run into Davey Allison. Then Davey Allison might have won the title
and we would not have had the race finish and Championship battle both known as
one of the greatest ever, with Alan Kulwicki and Bill Elliott. (And that’s
coming from a Davey Allison fan, kids.)
So, no, there’s not really that much difference. I’ll also submit that one, maybe even two of
the drivers who become eligible for the final race of the season probably would
not have that much of a chance to win the Championship in the old system anyway. How often do we have more than two to three
drivers with a mathematical chance with one to go? This new format was put into place to create excitement and
interest, and I’ll tell you, while I was not the biggest fan of it from the
start, I am now fairly excited and most assuredly interested. I can’t wait to see what happens next. Our sport needed some change. The saying goes, “If you don’t make dust, you
eat dust.” Well, NASCAR made some
dust. It may not be for everyone, to be
sure. But I’m willing to give it a shot
and let it play out. I may be happy with
the outcome, or I may find myself on the other side of the see-saw. I’m sure a lot of fans will find the same
experience about the new system. Whatever
it is, it is the system we have in place, and in the grand scheme of things,
and in the recognition of achievement, until it changes, it is what will be
used to determine our Champion of the elite level.
Feel free to leave comments below, and be sure to follow me @RaceFansJim on Twitter, because sometimes I give stuff away!