And So It Came To Be
|
10/11/2016
Vivian Simons |
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 have been watching the
2016 NASCAR Chase for the Championship, 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. My latest article 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, some of us 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
Jimmie Johnson at Pocono and how great he was. That assured us that Jimmie 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.