U Want Some Racing

We posted this earlier in the week but it deserves some more face time on the front page…….

The Chase Should/Won’t Go Away…
By Keith Ott
Let’s preface this with, “I hate, “The Chase.” It’s an unnecessary playoff in a sport that has no need for a playoff. It’s a NASCAR/TV evolved aberration designed to increase drama and improve ratings…It does neither. It solves none of NASCAR’s real issues. Racing should always be about winning and consistency. The ratio of both is up for debate. But, you either have the car to go to the front, and want to, or you nurse it home for points. Never should racing involve an “I can’t take chances because I’ll miss the playoffs mentality.” TV (the tail) is wagging the dog (Racing).
Playoffs
Playoffs are needed in sports where everyone can’t compete against everyone else at the same venue and time. NASCAR’s top drivers see each other every event. There’s no need for a so called “Chase.” However, since we have it, this may be the lamest playoff format in history. Where’s the structure? Where are the consequences for a poor performance? Playoff’s need consequences and eliminations. They are the fuel that makes them exciting.
Think of other playoffs. Pick a sport. Teams, that should win, often lose. Eliminations expose flaws and keep us glued to the process. Everyone gets a free ride in NASCAR. Bad day, who cares, we’re still getting an extra million over the 13th place guy. Where’s the drama there. Anyone ever had a “Chase Party?” I didn’t think so. There’s no consequence for those last 12 drivers. Sure, they might miss a title, but there were only probably 2-3, at best, that ever deserved a shot at it anyhow.
Fixes
Not that I think it belongs, but, if you want a playoff, these might help.
- Raise the Bar
No one ever, ever, ever, won a title when they were 400pts back with 10 races to go. Remember, when they first brought it out, that’s where, “10th or if within 400 of the leader” came in. Why have a set number of challengers? For convenience let’s use 400 pts as a benchmark. We may only get 3 drivers one year and 20 (exaggerated) the next. However, they know they have to race for that benchmark. They will race hard for that! On what planet does the guy in 12th deserve a title shot? Because he’s 12th doesn’t mean he’s not 6,7, 800 points out. He faced the same competition all year with his peers. He’s in 12th because he sucked too much to be 11th and he certainly wasn’t good enough to be first. Nor, IMO, does he deserve a shot at it.
- Eliminations
If we must stick with a set number, then they need eliminations. Nobody watches a playoff without consequences. Not going to presume on a formula. But, I would think whittling down to the last 4 with 5 races to go would work. The rest go back into the fold with the points they would have accrued in the real world.

NASCAR used a band aid to fix their non-TV friendly point system. They could have revamped the old point system; changed the wins/consistency formula, but, that would have taken effort. Much easier to just reinvent the wheel and ignore racing history. So, it won’t go away. Sorry. We’re a TV; gimme now crowd. As race fans of old give way to reality show fans, it will become more accepted. Such is life.
As always, nice to write you guys again, and let’s hope for some good racing!
K