And It Came to Be...
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Author's
Note: My articles are based solely on my opinions. Normally no statistics are
offered. Enjoy and feel free to comment afterwards...
As
I watched the 2018 NASCAR Chase for the Championship/Playoffs, I was reminded
of an article I wrote in 2004 when we first heard of the new type of format for
the last 10 races of the Cup Series each year.
When
it was announced and the original rules were explained, a lot of us fans were
not only stunned, but surprised that such a format could and would be
implemented in NASCAR Auto Racing, especially in the premier series. We then
began to realize that this sport was being put into the same category as
football, baseball and basketball. It has slowly evolved into an entertainment
rather than a true competition in this person’s mind. I think a lot of fans
feel the same way.
Several
of us here at Race Fans Forever have written numerous articles on the subject. One
of mine on the subject can be found here. I really think one of the
things that bothers most of us is the fact that the driver who is leading in
the points after 26 races can be dropped to finishing as low as 16th after the
first 3 races of the chase. I won't go into further detail of the possibilities
at this point since we are all familiar with what can or cannot happen.
As
PattyKay has mentioned many times, we here at RFF crown our Champion after the
26th race for several reasons. I personally feel the last 10 races have no
significance other than to pay out the most money and trophy to one driver out
of the original 16 who happens to accumulate more points in the last race only.
Please
enjoy the following article from 2004 which was published on another site then.
A
Preview of Things to Come?
By Vivian Simons
June 16, 2004
Little
did most of us know last year as we watched the last truck race of the 2003
season that we were seeing a preview of things to come in Cup racing. We
watched and cheered as Brendan Gaughan, a driver who had his team based in Las
Vegas, raced to what we thought was going to be a championship in the truck
series of NASCAR racing. However, there was another contender for the
championship and his owner, Jim Smith, had put another driver into the race and
this driver did not have enough experience
racing in that series and due to his mistake, a championship contender
was taken out of the race. The race continued without Brendan and the
championship had come down to two other drivers.
Because
of a mistake on a restart after a caution, Mr. Smith's driver lost the
championship. I thought that was okay as Mr. Smith had tried to get the edge by
running another driver to tilt the odds in his favor. Although I was happy
someone else had won the championship, I didn't know then that we might see a
repeat of that strategy.
Enter
Cup season 2004 and the new points system. We have seen 14 races so far and
will see the final race prior to The Chase for the Championship on September
11, 2004. I feel the date of 9/11 will once more put some things in motion that
will not end in happiness for a lot of people. History will once again raise
its ugly head on that date.
In
these last ten races of the season we will see all the field of 43 drivers, but
only 10 of them will be competing for the actual championship due to the new
points system. All points accumulated by being consistent in the first part of
the year will be taken away and the drivers will have only 5 point increments
between each position. I am already dreading these last ten races as I feel
there will be so much pressure put on these drivers by owners and sponsors that
all courtesy and level heads will be thrown out the window. I think that owners
will be trying new things in order to get an edge, and that they will also be
trying to put other cars into the field that might help their driver(s) who is
in the top ten have a better chance at winning the championship. Therefore I
think that penalties and other drivers, along with races ending under caution
will determine who wins the championship.
There
will be much blocking, intentional hits and team orders. Ending races under
caution makes it so easy to manipulate the finishing order of each race. When
NASCAR feels they have made a mistake and a favorite driver was maybe given an
unfair disadvantage, then they can make it right just by throwing a caution due
to debris on the track or because they may not be sure where some smoke is
coming from. Then they can take too long to sort the field and just declare the
winner while under caution. Think back to the race Rusty Wallace lost due to a
finish under caution. We know Rusty is not one of NASCAR's favorite drivers and
I am not a Rusty fan but it was wrong for him to lose the way he did.
With
only 5 points between each driver initially, each driver's position in the
points can be and will be at risk each week if a driver makes NASCAR mad. Then
all they need do is look at how someone was driving and maybe penalize that
person points because they made a judgement call in which they determined that
maybe he hit another driver intentionally, rather than accidentally when the
two of them got together. Did they or did they not warn Terry Labonte? Has
anyone EVER seen Terry deliberately run into someone? I don't think so. This is
what NASCAR refers to as a judgement call.
The
past two weekends in particular have already set things in motion. The
confusion that NASCAR has created has almost put the writing on the wall. Not
only have they been confused, they have actually confused the competitors with
their calls and rulings. This in turn has made the competitors kind of at odds
with the sanctioning body. Their tempers have flared and they have begun to
wonder if anyone understands what is going on. Did you take note of what Jeff
Gordon said in an interview after the Pocono race? He said that it was
confusing and embarrassing for the sport and he apologized to the fans. Then
there are other competitors who continue to remain politically correct and try
to convey to the media that NASCAR is doing the right thing, and that NASCAR
will sort things out correctly and we will all live happily ever after in
NASCAR Land. But all is not well in NASCAR Land.
Does
there seem to be a theme to what I have been saying? Absolutely! No matter who
has the points lead at the beginning of the last ten races, that driver may not
win the championship unless NASCAR feels that driver should. And the person who
was tenth at the beginning of those races and was over 500 points behind the
leader after the first 26 races, may now be our new Champion because NASCAR
desires it. It would be so very easy to script. After all, didn't Darrell
Waltrip already tell us while broadcasting the Pocono race that when it is your
year to be champion, then things will fall your way? Consider the way they
constantly talked about Jimmy Johnson at Pocono and how great he was. That
assured us that Jimmy would win the race that day. Scripted? Conspiracy? Maybe,
maybe not. You decide.
I
have been a NASCAR fan for over 45 years and have never felt like NASCAR was
unfair or planned who would win races or even the championship until this year.
Now I am beginning to have concerns, as it appears that all the signs are
pointing in that direction. I truly feel that NASCAR is no longer about
competition. It is about the money and entertainment. We veteran fans just
happen to be a byproduct of racing days which are now gone and have been
replaced by something that is not recognizable compared to its roots and humble
beginnings. Some of us can accept the changes and look at NASCAR as an
entertainment and some of us can't. Therefore some fans are returning to our
local Saturday night races and to other series as we feel NASCAR has abandoned
not only its roots, but has abandoned the true race fan that also happens to be
a veteran fan.
Comments
and your thoughts will be appreciated. Thank you.