A year or two ago, let us say that Brian France had a brainwave. He came up with a proposal to allow 16 drivers into the Chase, first determined by wins gathered up to and including Richmond. The rest would get an invite due to the points accumulated. Let him add another twist. Let him have the rank of contenders drop by four after three Chase events, another four after six, with four more gone just as they headed to Homestead. In the big finale, an artificially engineered four driver showdown for all the marbles would take place, also featuring 39 also-rans out there to keep them company.
So, after the race in Richmond in 2013, they would have set the sweet 16, to steal yet another concept from another sport. A dozen would wind up getting a pass based on having won at least once up to that moment. Welcome David Ragan to the derby for his win at Talladega. Tony Stewart would limp in, though he would be gone after the third race of the Chase for obvious reasons. Just like Clint Bowyer, not enough penalties could have kept Martin Truex Jr out, due to his win at Sonoma. The remaining four spots get in on points, which would mean no help needed by Jeff Gordon as he would join Dale Earnhardt Jr, Kurt Busch, and Bowyer..
Three races down in the Chase, and four drivers would be eliminated. Stewart is officially gone, to be joined by Ragan, who in three races earned only 53 points more than the idle Smoke. A lousy day at Loudon finished Kasey Kahne’s hopes, while Joey Logano started the Chase bad and that was all that was needed. Then, to keep us all on the edge of our seats, they evened up the points to put the final dozen on an equal footing.
12 left, with four more about to go by the time they left Talladega. A bad day in Chicago was all that was needed to eliminate Ryan Newman while Truex had a tough time just finishing in the Top 20 in those initial Chase weeks. Chicago also meant the end of Kyle Busch’s hopes, as the second stage also would have spelled adios for Greg Biffle. For the eight that remain, the points are again evened out as they all start from scratch, season be damned.
While Johnson would have cruised through the next segment with a win and a pair of Top Fives, Kurt Busch was just so-so, so he had to go. Jeff Gordon and Carl Edwards both had Texas disasters, while Bowyer was good at a time he needed to be great. 12 drivers and nine races down and it was down to NASCAR’s manufactured “game seven”…even though no other sport actually attempts to engineer such a thing. There is the Super Bowl, I guess, but I can’t help but notice that only the contenders ever hit the field on game day and most often the two teams are meeting for the first time that year. Still, I digress.
So, off they would have gone to Homestead, just four still alive in the hunt for the paper title. Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Dale Earnhardt Jr, and Matt Kenseth in a one race showdown. What a wonder for the ages it would have been, that is if the fans had bought into the nonsense. All four were on the lead lap on the final day, and while in-race observer Denny Hamlin was out in front at the end, the third place Junior was putting on a furious charge in an attempt to catch the second place Kenseth on the track. He would come up just short. Matt would no doubt have been overjoyed to win his second title, while Johnson finished ninth in the one race spectacular. Despite an average finish of 5.1 over the final ten races, it just would have not been good enough under the new France system. Would it have been a good enough finish for you?
While Matt celebrated and Johnson pondered what could have been, Dale Earnhardt rolled over in his grave. As for Richard Petty, he was just happy that the 1967 season was run under different rules. If it had not been, Bobby Allison’s sixth win that year in the Weaverville, North Carolina finale would have trumped the King’s 27 to claim the title that year. Petty finished second in the race, but even the best season in NASCAR history would have been reduced to a mere footnote. Still, imagine the excitement and joy of the fans in watching that “game seven” spectacular. Imagine the legitimacy of the championship.
Just imagine.
