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20-20: The Rest Of The Story
11/08/2016 David Nance |
This is a follow-up to my
earlier Epistle, entitled "Take a Chance, Mr. France." That article was written on the 20-20 concept
proposed as an alternative to the Chase.
This article includes the
back story and "rest of the story" that couldn't be included in the
earlier article. You'll also find some
present day applications using the 20-20 methodology for consideration and
additional understanding of its benefits.
To recap, the 20-20 proposal
was a proposal I made in 2003 as an alternative to the initial version of the
Chase.
In a nutshell, it eliminates
qualifying against the clock to set the starting lineup. Instead it uses the
finishing order of a race to set the starting order with the top 20 finishers
in Sunday's race lining up in that same order the following Sunday, while the
bottom 20 use their finishing order in Sunday's race to set the lineup for a
qualifying race.
The finishing order of that
qualifier then sets the final twenty positions for next Sunday's race. Additionally,
the race winner gets all the benefits currently received by the pole winner,
including first pit selection.
20-20 is an overall race
concept in which I believe deeply as a viable alternative to the nonsense used
today to crown our Champion. I believe
in the concept more so than the numbers.
Is 20-20 the perfect number?
I don't know. Maybe 16-24 or 12-28 or
something else. 20-20 seemed right in
2003 but after a dozen years, I'm not married to it.
Smarter people than I can
determine the magic number. And if you
find that number problematic and believe a different number is better you probably
won't get an argument from me. Your
number is probably better than mine anyway.
Please understand, I'm more
into the concept and its benefits. As I said, I have believed in it for a long
time… since 2003 to be exact. When the
initial announcement of the Chase was made I was so distraught over what I saw
it doing to the sport that meant so much to me, I quit my whining over what was
to happen and worked to come up with an alternative.
I did what most working
sports fans do and kicked ideas off co-workers.
I bent the ears of John Barnes, Jerry Wright and Keith Smith until they
were tired of listening to me… but each was patient and provided valuable
feedback, which I appreciate greatly. And because I believed in it so much, I
then did something I thought I would never do… I got off the couch, went to my
home computer keyboard and wrote it up.
The next step was even bolder
for me as I sent my crude proposal to a now former NASCAR beat writer whom I
respect greatly. I asked him if he would
review it and see if it had merit. He corrected a couple of errors and
suggested I publish it. His comment, "I wished I had written it",
meant more than I can describe and are words I'll always cherish.
I finally found a web site… a
small website now long gone, which agreed to post it, providing me a chance to
make one final impassioned plea to Mr. Brian France to consider this
alternative instead of embarking on the slippery slope we are now on, known as
the Chase.
It was December 2003. It was my first attempt at writing on
racing. It was a small website. The
readership was pretty sparse. I'm sure a
more captivating title would have helped draw more traffic. But the few comments received were favorable
and encouraging and very much appreciated.
The article had stimulated
others to come up with suggestions to make the proposal even better or share
their own ideas for a better methodology to crown a Champ. It showed me that
there were fans (at least a very few) out there who believed this was a better way.
The biggest surprise came
when I was contacted by Mr. Mark Rossi, VP of Sales and Marketing with Dover
Motorsports asking permission to take the proposal, make some tweaks to it and
then get it on the table for discussion with Mr. Jim Hunter, NASCAR's VP of
Corporate Communications.
To say I was blown away was
an understatement!
The rapid exchange of ideas
further fleshed out the concept, with greater emphasis given to the advantages
it provided to media. Never in my
wildest dreams did I expect that my feeble efforts would lead to this.
Mr. Rossi contacted me a few
weeks later and explained it had been presented. They hadn't heard anything but don't get
discouraged... "These things take time".
One thing we understand
around here is time. Kentucky bourbon
has to age for quite a while before its ready. That was 2004. If it were bourbon it would be about time to
tap that barrel.
So do I believe the
sanctioning body would ever adopt any of it?
I still hope so. I believe even
at this late date the concept is valid and would still pay dividends, improving
the product and start rebuilding interest in it. But even if it doesn't, that's
OK. It's just another jousted windmill I
can add to my long list.
As we say around these parts,
this was a long shot with a limb in the way and a heavy crosswind...
[Editorial comment: That’s a reference only a shooter would fully
understand. Bravo!]
And though we're a dozen
seasons into and on the umpteenth iteration of the Chase, I think it's safe to
say the good guys didn't hit their mark.
But you know what? I'm still glad
I took the shot. It took me on a ride that I will never forget and I made
contact with people I never in my wildest dreams would have met otherwise.
And each week as I see issue
after issue come up in the sport, like the Gibbs boys riding around, post-race
swerving, Kyle "Buschwhacking" the lower series, setting race line up
for qualifying rainouts by points, body slamming the car on pit stops, and
numerous other rules infractions, I can look back and say that wouldn't be an issue
with 20-20 and know its adoption could have made racing and the sport better.
When I tune in and see knock-out
qualifying, I usually don't stay with it because if 20-20 had been adopted I'd
be looking at a race instead. And I,
like I believe most race fans do find racing more interesting than another
contrivance, especially when that race sets the starting lineup for the next
race. If you don't believe it look at
the 125s or whatever they are now.
[Editorial comment: They are 150s but it matters little what they are
called. With 36 spots guaranteed, what I would call them is useless and a waste
of time and money.]
When I go to work and
upcoming NFL games, fantasy team results, standings or trades dominate the
mid-week water cooler discussion, I know something that could change that…
something that could get NASCAR back in the discussion.
And when I go to Jayski.com
and see the same weekly pattern to the stories, race results, Chase impact,
penalties, fluff, next track and predictions, fluff and qualifying repeated, I
just wonder how 20-20 would impact that.
I wonder how many drivers and
teams could withstand the pressure, if once they got in a hole with a bad
finish under 20-20. Could they dig out of it?
How do you think “Kez” or Martin would deal
with having to start in the back of a Martinsville qualifier, knowing that no
matter how good they did in it, they are still going to have a bad pit
slot? And if they can't get out of the
hole at Martinsville they face a bigger one at Texas. How many interviews would they get this week
on it? Could they stand that pressure?
How far back do you think the
Gibbs trio would have ridden around, knowing it was going to put them in a
qualifying race at Martinsville and a possible undesirable pit slot that would
probably nix their chances at a win to advance?
20-20 may have made them press down on the gas a little harder.
Wouldn't it be neat to see
Brian Scott, after driving a masterful race at Talladega, know he was going to
roll off outside front row at Martinsville?
How cool would that be? How
pumped would he, his team and sponsors be this week? What good things could come from that?
What a lift Richard Petty
Motorsports would get having both cars locked in with good starting spots and
not even have to run in the qualifiers.
Heck some of their guys might get an extra day’s rest.
But now, come Sunday, you are
going to see the Gibbs boys right up front with the RPM drivers mired in the
back struggling for their lives ... All because of the built-in "do-overs"
the system has now.
All the good and interesting
stuff we've mentioned is all stuff you can talk about all week-on TV, radio,
websites, social media, print media and at the water cooler and it's all
possible because of 20-20.
But instead, right now we're
in the dreaded weekly dead period-penalties have been doled out and knockout
qualifying is days away... Yawn, yawn, and yawn. Let's talk NFL.
20-20 deals with all this in
a positive and exciting way.
To me the greatest thing though
is everything… everything about 20-20 is it’s about racing and making racing
better in the simplest means possible. So whether it's ever adopted, that is
something I can take satisfaction in knowing.