October 30, 2008
By Doug Demmons
Jack Roush thinks the Chase needs to be changed. He wants drivers to get a mulligan, a freebie that lets them throw out their worst finish over the last 10 races.
There is a whiff of merit to this idea. But just a little.
Somehow it doesn’t seem fair that a driver can be leading at the start of the Chase and in just one race a blown tire or a lapped car getting too loose in front of him can send him to the garage and into a deep points hole.
It’s an attempt to make sure a driver isn’t eliminated by a problem not of his own making.
But that’s not enough to make it worth doing.
For one thing, it would not have made any difference over the first four years of the Chase. Even with a mulligan, Kurt Busch would have won in 2004, Tony Stewart still would have won in 205 and Jimmie Johnson would still have two straight titles.
If you threw out Johnson’s worst Chase finish -- a ninth at Talladega -- he’s still the points leader. If you threw out Carl Edwards’ worst finish -- a 33rd at Lowe’s Motor Speedway -- he gets closer, but he still would be more than 100 points behind.
It would make the Chase a little closer, delaying Johnson’s coronation a bit longer. But why should NASCAR do that? Why does the points race have to be close? Is it not possible for racing fans to appreciate a tremendous performance like Johnson’s?
Does the World Series have to be decided in Game 7 every year? Is the Super Bowl a stinker if it isn’t decided by a field goal with three seconds left in the game?
In baseball and football one lousy game can erase an entire season of excellence.
A Major League Baseball team can win 120 games in a regular season but fail to make the World Series if it doesn’t win the league championship series. There’s no do-over if one of its starting pitchers has an off night.
An NFL team can go 16-0 and lose in the first round of the playoffs. There’s no best two out of three. You lose and you go home. Doesn’t matter how great you were in October and November.
Is the NCAA Basketball Tournament any less exciting because two or three top seeds might not make the Sweet Sixteen?
That’s how it should be in the Chase. One bad race ought to hurt your chances. Even with a mulligan, Edwards would still be dragged down by his 29th-place finish at Talladega. And he ought to be.
Edwards’ bump-drafting mistake with Greg Biffle triggered the Second Big One at Talladega. Making that kind of mistake ought to cost a driver championship.
Johnson, on the other hand, has been nearly flawless during the Chase -- so much so that he is NASCAR’s version of Mr. October.
It’s a major compliment to Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus that people keep coming up with ideas to change the Chase, change the points, change anything and everything to try to make it less likely that he will win.
But NASCAR could make Johnson start 43rd every week and he’d still find his way to the front. No matter how they might change the rules, you just know that Knaus would find a way to win anyway.
Doug Demmons is a writer and editor for the Birmingham News ~ he writes daily and weekly auto racing columns ranging from NASCAR to open wheel to Formula One, local tracks and more... you can read Doug's columns online at Blog of Tommorow
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