Imagine the Super Bowl as Percy Harvin takes the second half kickoff. However, before he gets very far, he is blindsided by someone from … the 2 and 14 Houston Texans? The ball squirts loose, the Broncos pick it up and go in for a touchdown. Momentum shifts, Peyton Manning can find receivers, and Denver comes back to beat the Seahawks. If you think that is bizarre, welcome to NASCAR, 2014 style.
Now imagine Dale Earnhardt Jr finally challenging for the title. He is charging to the front at Homestead, when Dave Blaney, who never had a hope to winning it all, loses control and punts Junior into oblivion. Could happen. Forget consistency, wins will take the crown in the new Chase, they say. Then they say that under these rules, Junior could have won it all last season…a season in which he was winless. NASCAR logic.
Will it cause excitement at the end of the season? Well, you might be able to call it that. It would at least give us some reason to watch that abysmal crew from ESPN one final campaign. Will the new champion be the best of the best over the course of the season? Probably not. The only question we need answered is if the fans will accept who NASCAR deems as its champion under this rather contrived system or if an obviously superior candidate emerges.
Will Jimmie Johnson win his seventh title? Will fans give him credit for it if he does? Will a Hendrick driver win it all, again? Tony Stewart will be back, but its his leg we will wonder about. That, and how Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch play as team mates. Maybe Danica Patrick will be a factor this year, and then again, maybe my butt might sprout wings.
Richard Childress brings back the slant No. 3 for his grandson Austin Dillon while welcoming Ryan Newman to the fold. Martin Truex Jr. is the new man for Furniture Row, and Brian Vickers joins Michael Waltrip’s team. Along with Dillon, we have highly regarded rookie Kyle Larson with Ganassi Racing. There is some young talent coming up with less than seasoned teams, but it is too early to tell if they are for real, or if they will simply be joining the ranks of starts and parks.
Win a race, wind up in the Chase, or at least if you manage to finish among the Top 30. Win a Chase race, and you avoid elimination when they strip four from contention after each set of three events as they move through the Challenger, Contender, and Elimination rounds. Finish best among the final four contenders at Homestead, and you win a championship. Nope, it is not you daddy’s NASCAR, anymore.
While we will have to wait until Phoenix to see the change in Cup qualifying, the junior and truck circuits will start demonstrating this at Daytona. No more single car one or two lap turns, as now everybody hits the circuit at the same time. For the bigger circuits, the fastest 24 after 25 minutes continue for another 10 minutes. The top dozen then go for another five to determine the first six rows for when they take the green flag. For tracks under a mile-and-a-quarter, they all run for 30 minutes, with the top dozen advancing to a second and final round to determine the top spots. Rather than determine who has the fastest car, it should decide who is the fastest racer. That is an innovation that actually makes some sense.
At least something does. The changes coming up in deciding a champion, according to pundits citing nameless experts, has everyone very excited. Yes, about as excited as grandma got when you hurled on her nice shag rug. Let us just say we are interested in how it all turns out. We begin with the Sprint Unlimited for pole winners and former Bud Shootout winners on February 15th. Unless you are a hockey or basketball fan, enjoy the quiet, or at least until the Winter Olympics get under way at the end of the week.
True fans just want good racing every week, right now that is not happening, and hasn’t for some time. If BZF and his yes people were honest and really cared about the product they should promote they would see where the problems are. Nope, Gotta generate fake excitement via the horrible Chase. Sorry cannot respect a 10 race “Champ” who’s only competition are 11 other drivers, now this…a shootout at the last race. The elder Frances must be rolling in their graves. Sadly.
Gotta wonder who is more desperate for a return to the “good old days” of Nascar, the fans, or the Frances? Trying to make it like the stick and ball sports, which all use elimination playoffs, without actually eliminating anyone. Weird.