Officially Chasing
• 400-point cutoff eliminated
• Top-12 drivers qualify
• Point totals adjusted to 5,000
• Drivers "seeded" by wins
• 10-point bonus for each win
This means that drivers can now earn a maximum of 195 points per race; in 2006 the maximum earned was 190 points per race. So, what exactly do these changes mean for the Chase? The best way to really examine that is to see how it affected past history.
If these rules had been in place before, Jeff Gordon would have already won 5 championships. Jimmy Johnson would have been celebrating his second championship in three years in 2006, instead of his first. And in 2006, Tony Stewart would have finished second in the standings instead of 11th. Additionally, in this past year, Kasey Kahne would have began the race for the chase ranked first in the standings, instead of 10th.
So, these new rules will definitely affect the future -- is that for the best or the worst? Only time will tell. But most seem to like the idea of drivers being rewarded more for wins than they were in the past. The only part of the changes that appears to have fans divided for and against is the idea of expanding the field to 12. Fans against this idea argue that 12 will make it less elite, less competitive, and not as exciting. While fans on the other side of the coin say that 12 is just right, and drivers often ranked 11th and 12th do deserve to be in the Chase because of wins.
Personally, I think the changes are great. I especially love the change about seeding the drivers into the chase by number of wins and I think that the changes will make the 2007 season either incredibly dull or incredibly exciting to see who will win the championship.
Posted 01/22/07 by Jaime Sue | Filed under: NASCAR/Auto Racing
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