The Chase For The Sprint Cup: Good Or Bad For The Sport?

Brian France and the media think the Chase for the Sprint Cup (NASCAR’s play-off system) is the best thing that’s happened to the Sport in a long time. It gives the media something to talk about almost from the first time the drivers get on the track in Daytona in February. Who will be the chosen 12? How will they do each week? Who will fall out? Who will have the most wins and thus be seeded first when the chase starts. And on and on.

The fans have mixed feelings about the chase. Some like it because no one can run away with the lead. At least not in the first 26 races. Matt Kenseth prompted the chase by winning the Winston Cup Championship in 2003 by being Mr. Consistent the whole year, and winning only one race the whole year. He had enough top fives and top tens to run away with the title. Some of us fans thought that was quite an accomplishment. To be there at the front through the whole year. But others felt no one should be able to run away with the title without winning many times. In my opinion, the system wasn’t broken. Why bother to try to fix it?

Bill France, Sr. started the sport. He made racing a sport and took it to the masses. He made rules and found tracks on which to compete. Bill Jr. took over and made racing what it is today. Brought NASCAR all over the country. He and RJ Reynold’s Winston brand took NASCAR to a whole new level. Then along came Brian France and Nextel/Sprint. Now NASCAR racing has become, not so much a sport, as more a form of entertainment. And I’m not sure this whole thing is really good for the sport. Do we want to be a sport like football and baseball? Or do we want to be entertainment, like WWE?

To me, NASCAR is racing. And racing is beautiful. I’m a die hard NASCAR fan, from the first time I saw a race on television. And in my humble opinion, there was no need to have a play off system to make racing more exciting. To me, racing, just by definition, is exciting. Play offs are for sports that have divisions. And the winners of the divisions play each other to see who is best in the sport. NASCAR doesn’t need a play off system. Mainly because there are no divisions. And mostly because in this system, there are still 43 cars out there every week. The “Super Bowl” of NASCAR is the first race of the NASCAR Sprint Cup season.

Is the chase for the Sprint Cup good for the sport? I think not. Many fans are no longer watching because Jimmy Johnson is winning them all. Jimmy has figured out how to do well in the last ten races. So, the chase has become the Jimmy Johnson show. Is that good for NASCAR? It may be for Jimmy Johnson fans. But most fans are not JJ fans and would like to see others do good.

My solution? Put NASCAR back to what it was when Bill, Sr. and Jr. were running the show. When the fans were coming out to watch. When there was no Chase for the Sprint Cup. Give 25 extra points for winning a race. Fans want racing for the win, instead of consistency. That would give it to them. And the driver with the most wins should also be the driver with the most points and win the Championship.

Brian France wanted to take NASCAR a bit further and make it competitive with football. The theory being that fans watch BECAUSE they have a play off. And that making it possible for the wild card to win it all is exciting. I have to disagree. At least with NASCAR, having a twelfth place car win it all is not exciting. And having JJ win all the championships isn’t very exciting, either.

So, let’s put it back to racing for 36 races a year. Give more points to the winner of each race. And maybe the fans will come back to watch. As it is, ratings are way down. Gimmicks aren’t working. The chase isn’t working. And the fans want more than just consistent starting times. In my opinion, it wasn’t broken. Stop trying to fix it. Put it back and leave it alone. Listen to the fans, Brian. The Chase for the Sprint Cup isn’t working. At least not for the fans.

Brought to you by Sheila Hawley

In My Opinion: The Chase

2003 was a pivotal point in NASCAR racing. Brian France took over the reigns of the Series. At the time, NASCAR racing was the Winston Cup. As it had been since the 1970’s. RJ Reynolds decided to withdraw from sponsoring the Series, taking away their Winston brand. I’m not really sure what prompted this. Whether it was all their decision, or if it was Brian’s decision to start new. I can’t answer that. But I can give my opinion. Bill France, Sr. started NASCAR racing. And his son, Bill France, Jr. put the racing series on the map, with the help of R. J. Reynolds and their Winston brand. Winston Cup racing was born. And because of Bill France, Jr. and Winston, the sport grew all over the country. It was no longer just a Southern series. Racing was now nationwide. Everyone was watching racing.

Then along comes Brian France. I don’t know if he didn’t want cigarettes as a sponsor, or if Winston didn’t want to sponsor the Series with Brian at the helm. In any event, NASCAR found Nextel, and signed them up with a ten-year contract to sponsor the series. (By the way, Sprint took over Nextel and now the series is Sprint Cup.) So, in 2004 it became the Nextel Cup. That year, in 2003, Matt Kenseth won the Championship by a wide margin, despite the fact that he had only one win. Matt was consistent that year. You could count on him to finish in the top 5-10 each and every of the 36 races. Brian decided that winning should be more important. And that you shouldn’t get the trophy if you only had one win.

So, Brian implemented the Chase to the Nextel Cup. (Now called the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup) He made the season only 26 races and the last ten were The Chase. To get into the chase, you had to finish in the top 10 in points by the end of the 26 regular season events. His reasoning was that in those last 10 races, NASCAR would be competing with football for viewers. And he decided that the only reason people watch football is to see who gets into the play-offs. So, he wanted a play-off system. The first 26 races, were the race for the chase and the last ten races were the chase for the championship.

In my opinion, this was the beginning of the end of NASCAR racing. No longer could any team race into the top ten in points, because the points for the chase was set after the 26th race. Through the years, the chase was tweaked a couple of times. When favorites failed to make the chase, it was changed to 12 spots in the chase.  And when they were still points-racing to get in, the seeding was changed. Every race you win in the first 26 races earns you 10 points, if you get into the chase. So, the driver with the most wins starts the chase in first place, instead of the chase being the top 12 in that order.

That’s all fine and dandy, but in my opinion, more fans are not coming into the sport. In my opinion, more fans are no longer watching NASCAR racing. If this new system earned any more fans from football, they quickly lost them. Because play-offs are post season, and those not in the play-offs, go home. In this case, all 43 drivers are in the last 10 races, but no one outside of the chase can do better than 13th place.

In my opinion, I thought it was more exciting watching the last few races to see who was out of the top 10 and who got to go to NYC and be on stage. The media loves the new format because they can start talking about getting into the chase with the first race in Daytona. Why that is exciting, I’m not really sure. But Brain and the media love it. The fans, however hate the new format. They say that now more drivers are winning, instead of points racing so that they get 10 points toward the chase. In my opinion, there are 43 drivers racing for the win each and every week. Not for the 10 points, but for the win. NASCAR is racing. They don’t just drive around all day. They race for the win. Not for the ten points. But for the trophy. To collect as many wins as they can. And it has always been that way.

In my opinion, the chase is a stupid gimmick and is not working. Ratings are down. Seats are not being sold. You may point to the economy, but when ratings are down, NASCAR should look into why they are down. The new car is a factor. It is now a safer car, but the car doesn’t handle very well, and most fans don’t want to watch follow the leader in IROC cars, where they all look alike.

But the biggest reason for poor ratings, in my opinion, is the chase. The media is always talking about it, and it turns most fans off. Because they don’t like it to begin with. This year Matt Kenseth won the first two races of the year at Daytona and California (Auto Club Speedway). But he was not consistent enough to stay in the top twelve in points. So, he finds himself racing for 13th in points. No matter what he does the rest of the year, even if he wins the next ten races, all he can do is get that 13th spot. Kyle Busch (the media sweetheart) has four wins and didn’t make it into the chase. So now, will they have to tweak it again to include all the winners of races? There are also four drivers in the chase with no wins. What should become of them? Do they not make it because they didn’t win? And those winners get in because they won?

I say, it wasn’t broken. Why did Brian think he had to fix it? In my opinion, they should get rid of the chase, and may the driver with the most points win the championship. The way it should be. The winners will still be at the top of the standings. Give more points for winning. Under that assumption everyone will race for the win. But get rid of the chase. The only thing it is doing is chasing fans away. It is much more exciting watching drivers race into and out of the top ten. If  Greg Biffle, in twelfth place finishes 43rd all ten races in the chase, he still remains in twelfth place. And, like I said, if Kenseth wins the next ten races, he will finish the year in 13th. I have to ask myself why that is exciting. And I can’t come up with a single answer. Except that the media and Brian France likes the new format.

I loved NASCAR racing the first time I saw it in the mid ’90’s. When it was Winston Cup. When you raced into and out of the top ten and the Champion was the one with the most points. Not the driver who did best in the last ten races. In my opinion, all the chase does is turn off long time fans, and shortens the season. If they want a play-off, let it be after the season, and everyone else goes home. NOT a very good idea. But neither is a play-off in a sport with no divisions. That’s how you make a play-off. Your team is the best in your division.

It will always be exciting watching NASCAR racing. At least in my opinion. But it would be more exciting if there was no chase and they raced for wins (more points for winning) and getting into and out of the top ten to get onto the stage for the awards. In my opinion. NASCAR, are you listening?

Brought to you by Sheila Hawley

Another thing. The media talks as though there has never been anything but the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Jeff Gordon has four Winston Cup Championships. Jimmy Johnson is the only winner of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Kurt Busch has one Nextel Cup trophy, as does Tony Stewart. Yet the media insists everything is NSCS. I wonder why that is.

NASCAR Survey

Much has been said of the NASCAR racing these days. That the racing is boring. That the new car makes the racing boring. Personally, I am a die hard fan. I started watching in 1996, and I was hooked on it my first race. I continue to watch all the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races. Along with the NASCAR Nationwide Series races and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races. Why? I guess because I just love watching racing.

In 2001, at the end of the Daytona 500, Dale Earnhardt lost his life after smashing into the wall while blocking. One year before that, Adam Petty lost his life while practicing at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the Busch Series race. That same year, Kenny Irwin did the same thing while practicing for the Winston Cup race in NHMS. The result that year was to put restrictor plates on the Cup cars to slow them down. Jeff Burton led all the laps. Not exciting racing, if you weren’t a Burton fan.

When Earnhardt died, NASCAR was forced to make changes. Their Research and Development department went into overdrive, trying to figure out what to do. All the tracks in NASCAR now have SAFER barriers, instead of concrete walls. For the best for safety reasons. So, when the car hits the wall, some of the energy is absorbed. They all have to have Head And Neck devices, along with their helmets. When Earnhardt crashed, he had an open-face helmet and his safety straps were not properly installed. Now these things are mandatory.

NASCAR went a step further and built the Car Of Tomorrow (COT). The driver is not right next to the door and there is more protection for him. However, all cars are created equal and teams get fined if they don’t comply to the templates. The COT doesn’t handle as well as the cars used to. So, some say the racing is boring because they can’t pass.

So, what I want to find out, is what makes a good race, as opposed to a boring race? In my opinion, racing is exciting. Just by definition. But I want to know what others think is a great race. Is it the spectacular crashes that draws fans? Is it more exciting to see one car crash out another to get by? Or is side-by-side racing exciting? I realize follow the leader is not exciting. And it seems that with the new car, the leader takes off and no one can catch him. I think, if that is the case, the new double-file restarts will cure that.

Case in point. Taladega. The racing all day long was three-wide. I thought three-wide was exciting. But what made the headlines was the spectacular crash at the end. Would it not have been as exciting if Carl had raced Brad to the finish line line, instead of blocking and crashing himself out? And Daytona. Was the ending better because Kyle blocked and crashed himself out and into everyone else? Couldn’t he have raced Tony to the line to be a great race?

Another thing. Is the quality of racing dependent on how well or poorly Kyle Busch does? Personally, I like the race better the worse he does. Do the fans watch the races to see Kyle win? Or, are they not watching any more because he did so well last year?

So, NASCAR fans, what, in your opinion, makes great racing? The crashes? Your favorite winning? Kyle winning or not? Or do you just not to watch because Earnhardt is no longer racing? Is it the chase that keeps you watching? Is it the excitement of the chase and everyone telling you who is where all through the race? What do you think would improve racing? Please leave me a comment. I really want to know.

Brought to you by Sheila Hawley

NASCAR Comment

Hello race fans. There is no NASCAR Sprint Cup race this weekend. So I will not be posting a Race Review. But I’d like to share with you what I like about NASCAR and why I started following the Sport.

I’m not very athletic. I can’t hit a ball to save my life. I can ski, but only do well on the good beginner/easy intermediate trails. When faced with moguls I tend to get down the hill on my behind! It’s only fun when you can get down the hill. I never was someone to watch sports, either. Something better was always on, in my opinion.

But in 1996, my now husband took me to a friend’s house (Gary) to watch a Winston Cup race. I don’t remember which race it was. I was captivated. It was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. I was told I had to pick a driver in order to watch the race. I had heard about the Indy 500, but that was Indy cars, not NASCAR. I had heard about Richard Petty and the famous #43 STP car, but he was no longer racing. So, who to pick?

I saw a beautiful red, white and blue #88 car and picked that. (8 is my favorite number) It turned out to be Dale Jarrett. Everyone said that was a good pick. As I watched, I fell in love with racing. And I also fell in love with my pick. The most popular driver was, of course, Dale Earnhardt. He was aggressive and many times crashed cars out to get by. I didn’t like that. I liked to see racing, not crashing.

As I watched more and more races, I decided to stick with my first pick, Dale Jarrett. He raced. He passed cars to get by. And NASCAR became my Passion. And Dale Jarrett my driver. He won that first race, by the way. He’s now retired and I have to find a new favorite. His style of racing was what drew me to him. And kept me chearing him on.

Through the years, I’ve liked several other drivers. Not because they make daring, aggressive moves, but because they race well. I watched Dale Jr. race with Matt Kenseth in the old Busch Series. That was fun to watch. I never liked Jr.’s father because he let it be known that if you didn’t get out of the way, he was going to make you get out of the way. And that, to me was not racing. I liked Jeff Burton in the #99 Exide. Again, because he raced instead of crashing someone else out. I liked Matt and Jr., but I collected Matt as one of my favorites.

I watched ASA and had favorites there. I watched Hooters Pro Series and had favorites there. I also watched This Week In Dirt on TV and noticed the name Kasey Kahne. He always finished in the top three! And I watched the Busch North Series and had favorites there.

My husband Ray and I compete in every race we watch. His favorites against my favorites. When I first started watching, Gary with Earnhardt, and Ray with Ken Schrader had a bet going with each other. Who’s ever driver finished better won the bet. $5. Ray usually lost. They wouldn’t let me get in because I was new. The next year I also couldn’t get in. They didn’t think I’d stick with Jarrett. But I did and he won seven races in 1997. In 1998, they let me in on the bet. The winner got $5 from the other two. I, with Dale Jarrett won over $300 competing with Dale Earnhardt and Ken Schrader. In 1999, DJ won the Championship. And there was no more betting!

I loved Winston Cup racing. It was the best. Brian France, Jr. took a Southern Sport, and with RJ Reynolds’ Winston brand made NASCAR what it is today. Beautiful racing. Then along comes son Brian. Winston was replaced with Nextel. Nextel signed a ten year contract, but after only a few years Sprint bought Nextel, and it is now Sprint Cup.  And after the 2003 season, Brian decided NASCAR needed a play-off to keep the fans watching while football was going on.

I hated it. Play-offs were for sports with divisions. NASCAR has 43 cars competing every week. How does a play-off fit into NASCAR? But they shortened the season to 26 races, instead of 36 and made the last ten races the Chase for the Championship. The media loved it. They start talking about the Chase contenders with the first race of the year! However, the fans don’t care for it. So it isn’t doing what NASCAR wanted it to do-get more fans to watch during football.

And now the media darling is Kyle Busch. He’s touted as having so much talent and can win in anything he gets into. I personally, don’t see the talent. For him, it’s Checkers or wreckers. And in my opinion, that’s not talent. He also is a sore looser. And blames everyone else when he doesn’t win. Not a very good racer. The fans don’t care for him, or the way the media shoves him down our throats. He doesn’t race. He crashes out the competition. Thankfully, he also crashes himself out.

NASCAR will always be something I will watch. Because it is beautiful. I just wish it could go back to when there was no Chase. And the best driver that year won the Championship. Instead of the driver that was best in the last ten races.

Brought to you by Sheila Hawley

In My Opinion: Kyle Busch

The Media just loves Kyle. The fans just hate him. And Kyle just loves being hated. Okay, he can drive. But is he as great as the Media makes him out to be? In my opinion, definitely not. Yes, he wins races. Last year, in his fourth year in the Sprint Cup Series, he had eight wins. Is that a lot? Sure. More than some, but not as many as some. Carl Edwards had nine wins the same year. Jeff Gordon won his first Championship in his third full year in Winston Cup with seven wins. Kyle had only four wins in his first three years. I’m sure the Media noticed that at the time. They must have forgotten, though.

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. once spun out into the infield at a track, and when he got out of the car, he bowed to the fans to show that he was alright. Kyle took that bow and made it his own when he wins. Carl Edwards does a back-flip from the car when he wins. He doesn’t tell you he got that from another driver. But he made it his own. I guess Kyle can’t do a back-flip, because he didn’t take that from Carl.

Kyle Busch decided he was going to prove to the masses that he is the best driver ever. And the Media jumped on the bandwagon. But he wasn’t going to do it by winning all the races in Sprint Cup and collecting Championships in that Series. No, he will enter as many races as he can in the lower Series. So, as a Pro in Cup, he will race against the amateurs in the Nationwide Series and the drivers who couldn’t win in Cup, competing in the Camping World Truck Series.

Does that make him a better driver than, say, three-time Cup Champion, Jimmy Johnson? Or four-time Cup Champion, Jeff Gordon? Hardly. It only proves he’s better than the drivers who never made it in Cup. Yes, he amassed many wins last year in the three NASCAR Series. And the Media quickly picked up on that, saying he could get into any car or truck and win. But does that really prove that he is a great driver? In my opinion, no.

Kyle doesn’t know how to loose. The Media says that’s because he’s the ONLY one who wants to win. I beg to differ. EVERY driver out there, in all Series WANTS to win. They wouldn’t be racing if they didn’t think they could win. Kyle needs to grow up. It was cute when he started out as the youngest driver to win certain races. And pouted and stormed off when he didn’t. But he’s 24 now and still runs away from the fans and Media when he doesn’t win. He’ll never be a great driver until he can own up to not winning.

See, you can’t win them all. No one can. No matter how much you may want to. And, in my opinion, Lady Luck has a lot to do with winning. Kyle snubs her every time he bows. And look at what happened in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup last year. He won eight races in the regular Season. And fell on his face during the last ten races of the Chase.

Can he drive? Sure. Is he the best driver out there? Definitely not. Collecting wins in the lower Series doesn’t make him a better driver. It just makes him better than the amateurs. Big deal. Maybe one day he’ll grow up and realize Cup is where he wants to race. And where he wants to do well. And that you have to take the wins along with the losses. And not be an idiot on and off the track. But I doubt it.

He wasn’t in the Truck race in Texas because he was in Pocono. He attempted the triple-header last year and fell flat on his face. But that Truck race was great. Maybe because it was Truck drivers competing with each other. And no Kyle in the line-up. And the announcers were talking about the Truck drivers instead of Kyle Busch. (They say his name with capital letters.) The Nationwide race wasn’t as wonderful. Kyle was on the pole. Anyone can lead from the pole and pull away. It should have been a great race because it should have been all Nationwide drivers, as Cup drivers were in Pocono. But Kyle and Carl had to ruin a good race. In my opinion. The idiot even smashed the guitar trophy! Talk about immature!

Grow up, Kyle. Driving “three-wide all by himself”, as the Media says, more often than not will only cause a crash. Not make you a better driver. In my opinion.

Brought to you by Sheila Hawley. See you after the Pocono 500.