The Chase has just become dumber

[harvick#1]

http://www.thatsracin.com/mld/thatsracin/16519676.htm


Chase Adjustments:
The Chase – consisting of the season’s last 10 races – will further reflect the importance of racing to win, via a variety of adjustments.


During the format’s first three years, the top 10 drivers in points after the 26th race of the season (at Richmond International Raceway) qualified for the Chase; in addition, any other driver outside the top 10 but within 400 points of the standings’ leader was also eligible.


Starting this season, the 400-point cut-off is eliminated.


Also, after Race 26, the top 12 drivers in the points will qualify for the Chase.

All 12 drivers will have their point totals re-set to 5,000; each will then receive a 10-point bonus for each race victory they had during the first 26 races.

The Chase drivers will be “seeded” to start the Chase based on the number of wins amassed during the regular season.

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I guess Nascar no longer wants to reward consistency

[RaceFanStan]

Starting this season, the 400-point cutoff is eliminated,
the top 12 drivers in the points after Race 26 will qualify for the Chase.

All 12 drivers will have their point totals re-set to 5,000,
each will then receive a 10-point bonus for each race victory they had during the first 26 races.

In line with the Chase adjustments, wins throughout the season will be more valuable.
Race winners throughout the 36-race season will now receive 185 points, a five-point increase.

http://www.nascar.com/2007/news/head...ges/index.html
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I think this is a major step in the right direction.

(BTW, I didn't see this thread when I started mine)

[SmokeFan20]

I don't like the new system, I LOVE the new system.

This new chase system caters to the drivers that actually want to win races.
Not the wussy play-it-safe point racers that only care about the championship and nothing else.
Winning isn't everything. It's the only thing.
2nd place is just the first loser.

I know. Not rewarding the points leader/best regular season driver after chase starts is a little iffy.
But if the points leader/best regular season driver wants to be rewarded when the chase starts, they'll have to work for it by winning the most regular season races.

[call_me_andrew]

Didn't they announce this a few weeks ago?

[SmokeFan20]

Didn't they announce this a few weeks ago?

It was reported by Jayski, but NASCAR didn't confirm it until this week.
Plus the "Seeding by wins" thing wasn't even heard of until this week.

[jslone]

I want to wait and see how this works,I like the old style points system but would have the top 10 in points qualify for the Chase.

[Alexamateo]

I'd like to see it stay at 10, and wish the top 3 or top 5 would get significantly more points than the rest of the field, but this is a step in the right direction.

[BenRoethig]

My view on this: a win should be 200 points even before bonuses, the chase field should be top 15, and they should have kept the points offset.

[Mark in Oshawa]

I hate the 12 guys getting in, 10 was a good number, but now they are rewarding wins, so I think it is worth a shot. Most of the purists hate the chase so it really doesn't matter. Count me more or less as a purist......

[dwboogityfan]

I never liked the Chase how it was and NASCAR has changed it because Dale Jr and Jeff Gordon missed it in '05 and Tony Stewart missed it last year. Even NASCAR directly mentioned these three drivers in the press conference.
I wonder if a guy like Matt Kenseth, who has achieved as much as Dale Jr (if not more), had missed the chase instead of Stewart if the number would have been changed from 10 to 12. What happens if Dale Jr finishes 13th in points, will it be 14 drivers in 2008 and so on.
The points for winning could be a good thing, but again it eliminates the skill of points racing. Yes it may be slightly less exciting to see a guy finish 5th every week but it is arguably a better achievement than winning 1 race a season and finishing 25th in points.
Had the Chase been 12 spots throughout Nascar history would we still think of guys like Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt as legends? It is unlikely they would have won seven championships.
Worse still NASCAR has ignored the biggest problem facing the sport in '07. There will be around 50 full time teams and around 55-60 cars trying to make the Daytona 500. Why then should they be only going for 8 (7 with that silly champions provisional) spots. Its possible that a driver could finish 4th in his Gatorade Duel and go home. Thats ridiculous and NASCAR needs to change the top 35 rule. Go back to 2 round qualifying and only award 3 provisionals based on owner points,