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Christmas Has Come Early for NASCAR Fans

Published: 21st Nov 11 9:31 pm
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by Brian Berg Jr.
brianbergjr
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Christmas Has Come Early for NASCAR Fans
Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE

When I really got into NASCAR, I mean when I was at a point where I watched it enough to know quite a bit about it, I became a magnet for commentary.  OK, maybe not a magnet but because I knew enough I was confident in what my discussions would be.  There is a lot of fun talking about NASCAR with compassionate fans.  No matter where I was, no matter what the venue, whether a campground at the Michigan Speedway or some other speedway, or some bar, the topic would turn to who won the championship but did not deserve it because they did not win enough races.  It is hard to disagree with that since racing is all about winning races but the Champion kicked ass every week, not just a couple of weeks out of the season.  The main reason is the point system rewards consistent top finishes.  This leaves a lot of room for heated debate.

The driver who finished well week in and week out was apparent when it came to the last race of the season.  Many times that driver was apparent the second to last week of the season and sometimes even earlier than that.  This would diminish the last race of the season and sometimes the race before it.  To really make matters worse it happens in a sport that starts the season with its “Super Bowl”.  Nothing could highlight a season ending race that means virtually nothing more than starting the next season with the race that will be the highlight of the season.

So NASCAR decided, after listening to fans, to change that.  They instituted The Chase for the Sprint Cup.  A format that leveled the playing field so the top 10 drivers could slug it out in the last 10 races.  The whole idea being that there would be enough drivers close enough for it to matter at the last race.  For the most part it has helped, but with the exception of the year Kurt Busch won, the championship was essentially settled the race before the last race.  Remember when Kurt lost his wheel in the middle of the race?  That was about as exciting as it got.

This year NASCAR decided to change The Chase to reward winning, and reward winning they did.  They awarded bonus points for winning that would get you into the chase in the form of the wild card.  They added bonus points for winning the race which you could take with you into The Chase when the top 10 drivers points were reset.  Then in The Chase those same bonus points would be used to make up for lackluster races or to move you ahead of the competition.

Who would have thought that it would result in a final season race where the championship was actually on the line.  Where two drivers actually had a chance.  Where each of those drivers could win the race and therefore the championship.  Where both drivers would actually finish first and second with the winner of the race winning the championship.  I don’t know about you but I got exactly what I wanted.  Congratulations to Tony Stewart for winning the race and the Championship.  Congratulations to Carl Edwards for coming in second.  It sounds funny to be congratulating Carl for second but he has absolutely nothing to be disappointed about and everything to be proud about.  This race will be remembered for decades.  The only unfortunate thing about it is, what will we talk about in the campground after the races?  Oh Yeah, Tony and Carl were actually tied in points.  Have a great Thanksgiving fans, don’t bother doing the Black Friday thing, you already have your Christmas present.

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One Rant to “Christmas Has Come Early for NASCAR Fans”

  1. Rich says:
    November 22, 2011 at 3:32 pm

    Tony Stewart – traction control says it all.

    Reply

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