Ac-cent-tchu-ate the positive. If it was good enough for Johnny, Bing, and Perry, well, gosh darn it, it is good enough for me. I will not even breath a mention of the snore-fest that was Richmond.
Wins trump points. I like it. I was not so sure to start with, but I do like the wild card aspect of it to get one into the Chase. Along with the present points system instituted in 2011, where the range is now between 1 and 43 awarded per race, NASCAR can get things right. Yet another positive.
The Chase format, I have grown used to it. Just as some won races by laps, not seconds, in times past, having a champion pretty much decided early by a season long points race might be a truer way of deciding, but more often there is not a speck of excitement, drama, or surprise left. Too soon to tell if the final result of the elimination system will give us a champ we might agree with, but I think it will. The New England Patriots went 18-0 in 2007 before losing that final game, but we recognize the New York Giants as the NFL champs that season. Same will be the case in NASCAR. That is, unless it is Junior who gets screwed over, then all bets are off.
Can we make the Chase better? Sure, and it can be done in a way that might actually be implemented. Is the season too long, does it need to be reduced? If so, just let them run a 31-race schedule like they did in 1996. Then everybody gets time off, except for the Top 20 who would partake in a real five race playoff for all the marbles. Week in and week out, there are only 25 or so quality rides circling the track anyway, so this is just another example of ac-cent-tchu-ating the positive.
Sixteen Nations? I thought only Junior had his own Nation, but I guess if it is good enough for him, it should be good enough for the other sovereign rulers. There is King Kurt and King Kyle, for example, and thankfully they both can be kings. No Game of Thrones-like tension here.
After three races, four of those nations will join the Ming Dynasty and the Mongol, Roman, and Ottoman Empires and fade from view. Only four will be in the running for the crown at Homestead, and only one will join the girl on the bow of the Titanic when it is all over. The Titanic, a prime example of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge going too far, but I digress.
Sixteen drivers and teams, along with nine owners, begin the adventure Sunday at Chicago. As for the best over the course of the season, with winners awarded 25 rather than three bonus points, fourteen of our Hot 20 remain in the Chase. The fact that even our leaders could find themselves eliminated along the Chase way, some see as a positive to be ac-cent-tchu-ated. Just like those ‘07 Patriots. Time will tell.
BOLD = Active Chaser
Hot 20
1 – Jeff Gordon – 3 Wins – 980 Points
2 – Dale Earnhardt, Jr. – 3 – 949
3 – Brad Keselowski – 4 – 918
4 – Joey Logano – 3 – 895
5 – Jimmie Johnson – 3 – 868
6 – Kevin Harvick – 2 – 832
7 – Carl Edwards – 2 – 821
8 – Matt Kenseth – 0 – 797
9 – Ryan Newman – 0 – 782
10 – Kasey Kahne – 1 – 757
11 – Greg Biffle – 0 – 753
12 – Clint Bowyer – 0 – 746
13 – Kyle Larson – 0 – 737
14 – Kyle Busch – 1 – 709
15 – Jamie McMurray – 0 – 706
16 – Paul Menard – 0 – 701
17 – Austin Dillon – 0 – 698
18 – Brian Vickers – 0 – 681
19 – Denny Hamlin – 1 – 681
20 – Kurt Busch – 1 – 673
