NASCAR Chase Tweaks

I still believe the "Chase" is an artificial construct. Only fan outrage will cause it to go away...and none seem to be so outraged. Therefore, to quote NASCAR President Mike Helton, "It is what it is."

That still won't stop my offering some suggested tweaks to their system. They are:

Top 10 in points/any driver 400 or fewer points behind the leader after race 26--status quo.

My tweak would add race winners of two or more races to that mix, not in the top 10, who would be adjusted into a tie for 10th place. The drama of 10th place would still exist...but more emphasis would be placed on winning. I still have this outdated notion that winning races should be more rewarding than scoring points (see the points system comment below).

Paul Kaminski

Let's Reward Winning...Not Stroking

The old line fans and purists think NASCAR's top division has "gone Hollywood". It's changed a lot since I saw my first race in 1978.Despite Brian Vickers' brain cramp at Talledega, the fans (at the track, not in the TV audience, which was lower than last year) were interested in the last lap theatrics. It gave the appearance that a driver was actually interested in winning a race. My little rework of the points system would do that in fact:
Race winner gets 200 points.

Second gets 180. The point totals drop by five from 3rd through 19th; 3rd gets 175, 19th gets 95.

20th to 24th place gets 90 points.

25th to 29th place gets 80 points.

30th to 43rd place would get 70 points (so the creative body work to pound out dents and rip off fenders would not really be necessary, unless the car was running in the top 19).

Bonus Points: Winners get 10, green flag lap leaders get 5 and lap leaders under the yellow get two.

We'll have more comments on our "Race-Talk" program...and even more here on the blog.

Another Wreckfest at Talledega

In the "what the Sam Hill was Brian Vickers thinking" department:

That was short term thinking of the highest order. Yes, he got his Nextel Cup win. Yes, it will help him with Red Bull.

No, he will never get another break from any driver in Hendrick livery, despite his comments on the departed Ricky Hendrick from Victory Lane.

It was high drama of the NASCAR variety.

ps--if AJ Allemendinger does get a brain cramp and come to NASCAR's Red Bull program, he'll suffer a similar fate as did Michael Andretti, Cristiano da Matta, and to some extent, Juan Pablo Montoya during their move "up" to Formula One.

Go Fast or Go Home--a suggestion for NASCAR to implement

This business with provisionals is old. It ties up scarce spots in the field. It needs to be changed; here's how I'd do it:

In Nextel Cup, the most recent past champion would get a season long provisional. Period. The 42 fastest cars fill starting spots 1-42; the provisional starter starts 43rd. This is the only equitable way to allocate scarce resources among some 50 teams reputed to be chasing the Nextel Cup in 2007.

But wait, there's more: Something needs to be done with the points-just like the provisionals.