Beating a Dead Horse! (1 Viewer)

Leebone

Nitro Member
This subject has been discussed ad nauseam on this forum. However, it's hard for me to let it go. I wish the NHRA would reconsider the countdown. The nitro categories really got screwed this year. Steve Torrence and Courtney Force just lost their HUGE leads in the points. Now they're only leading by 20 points. How is that fair? The NHRA just lost me on this!
 
It is really rather simple. The regular season is qualifying for the countdown. :)

Stan
 
This subject has been discussed ad nauseam on this forum. However, it's hard for me to let it go. I wish the NHRA would reconsider the countdown. The nitro categories really got screwed this year. Steve Torrence and Courtney Force just lost their HUGE leads in the points. Now they're only leading by 20 points. How is that fair? The NHRA just lost me on this!


last year too
https://www.foxsports.com/motor/video/1094749763953
 
What is the countdown? :)

I tried to resist.

-When you barely have 10 full time teams in the categories, is a cut off really needed
-Dives have been around for years, now we have, at minimum, at least an increased chance for the need for them. Even if they don't happen, just the cloud that now every race might not be done straight up is damaging to the sport. I wish the NHRA brass would sit in the stands under cover, they might be surprised what they learn. I don't go to a race where I don't hear someone mention dives when teammates race. From a business/sponsor stand point I fully get why they happen, from a competitive and fan stand point they are bad.
-It seems to be a miss on knowing the fan base. I think its safe to say the demographics skew to the right for race fans, yet they went with an everybody gets a medal approach to their championship. It's a sport built on one-and-done. Bring your best or go home. I fully get why they thought it was needed after the epic Schumacher/Kalitta battle but what made that special and other close years is that they don't happen every year. I can name just about every champion in the season long points era. I can only guess over the countdown years.
-Eliminates greatness. Why do we love or hate Force, Glidden, Tony, Snake or Garlits? Because they beat the crap out of everyone for years on end. That is why they are considered the greatest of all time. Now, we've seen too many times, you only need to get hot for a couple of races to win it all.(Might help if you have some teammates along the way too). I don't follow Nascar but remember reading and hearing a few years ago how Jimmy Johnson didn't get the respect the number of championships would normally get and it was blamed on people looking at them as "Chase" championships and not equal to what previous drivers had done. Look at last year, while it was nice that Brittney won. She won it fair and everyone played the same rules, it really didn't feel the same. She should have been all over the place for winning a championship and being the best for the season. Oh wait, this other guy won how many times, twice as much as her? We awarded a hot streak, not greatness. Yeah championships being decided early may take away some drama and as a WJ fan I was pissed every time Glidden would wrap it up early, but it made it so much better when WJ finally broke through.
- People now don't make passes to stay in the countdown. I love that Palmer is out there but..... He skipped two sessions Sunday in order to avoid an oil down penalty. Then when Crampton lost first round, Palmer had secured the 10 spot but by less than a round. He didn't run. I'm not sure if something really did break or if it was to not risk losing points in case he oiled the track. I fully get playing that game from a points stand point, it sucks though that you can win a championship by not racing.

I don't expect it to change. I usually get bored with them going nuts over it and don't finish out the season anymore. I also only go to one NHRA race a year now(went to 4 the year before the countdown) BUT I rediscovered cool small track stuff and shows so I still get plenty of racing in. Heck I'll even debate ways of keeping the countdown but making it a lot better.
 
I had real tears after John Force finally got his first win after sooo many tries against all of his heroes....and then after his first championship.
Now the Championship is kind of empty....luck plays much more into it. And with the Chase oops sorry Countdown, team orders plays much more into it.
And any mid-season rules change has much more weight on the outcome now....
 
Since the countdown is for the final 25% of the season, why not reduce the amount of points awarded for each round win to 25% of what they are pre-countdown?
Instead of 20 points per round win, make it 5.
The "little" points awarded during each qualifying session could stay.
To wipe out the accomplishment of dominating for the first 18 races, and put so much emphasis on the final six is ridiculous.
What good does it do to increase the number of points for winning Indy if the point system gets reset immediately after the race?
Whoever at NHRA thought copying nascar's "playoff" system with the countdown was a good idea had a serious case of cranial rectumitis.
 
With the countdown now set it will be interesting on what happens. I like Steve Torrance but it obvious that his dad who is going to run the rest of the season could very well be used as a blocker. For the Force/Schumaker/Kallitta teams I don't think there are any blockers in their teams YET. Lets get into a few races and see what the standings are in each of those super teams and if one of their cars in t/f or f/c is obviously ahead of the others and they see the others can't win the championship they will start being used as blockers. In Pro Stock its obvious in the big teams that they have blockers. It isn't against the rules to throw a race for a team mate but it just doesn't look good.
 
1. The single greatest championship was 1996, when Force won Indy/Bud Shootout and the World title. Nothing comes close.

2. Kalitta was ROYALLY SCREWED. Had Buster been on that starting line, Schumacher would have been disqualified. No one ever accused Buster of being lacking in cojones. :(

PS: #2 was the drag racing Crime of the Century. :(
 
It happens in all sports, teams build for the playoffs and then how they match up in the finals and how to win it all. Leading up to the playoffs is all fluff, no need to kill yourself all year and have nothing in the tank for when it counts in the playoffs. Congrats to the Patriots and their perfect season - it meant nothing when it all ended on a loss.
 
1. The single greatest championship was 1996, when Force won Indy/Bud Shootout and the World title. Nothing comes close.
2. Kalitta was ROYALLY SCREWED. Had Buster been on that starting line, Schumacher would have been disqualified. No one ever accused Buster of being lacking in cojones. :(
PS: #2 was the drag racing Crime of the Century. :(

Regardless of how you feel about that race, you have to admit it was far more exciting than any Countdown championship. Shoe had to do the nearly impossible to win, the odds were squarely against him, yet he pulled it off. THAT was excitement.
 
With the countdown now set it will be interesting on what happens. I like Steve Torrance but it obvious that his dad who is going to run the rest of the season could very well be used as a blocker. For the Force/Schumaker/Kallitta teams I don't think there are any blockers in their teams YET. Lets get into a few races and see what the standings are in each of those super teams and if one of their cars in t/f or f/c is obviously ahead of the others and they see the others can't win the championship they will start being used as blockers. In Pro Stock its obvious in the big teams that they have blockers. It isn't against the rules to throw a race for a team mate but it just doesn't look good.

Crampton didn't make the countdown so in theory Doug has a blocker, not sure if Connie would do that though
 
It happens in all sports, teams build for the playoffs and then how they match up in the finals and how to win it all. Leading up to the playoffs is all fluff, no need to kill yourself all year and have nothing in the tank for when it counts in the playoffs. Congrats to the Patriots and their perfect season - it meant nothing when it all ended on a loss.

True but in those sports you actually have to line up and beat other playoff teams. Here you can race non playoff teams to pad your points. My Detroit Lions could finally win a Super Bowl if they got to play non playoff teams like the Browns or Jets to advance instead of facing the Packers and Saints :)
 
True but in those sports you actually have to line up and beat other playoff teams. Here you can race non playoff teams to pad your points. My Detroit Lions could finally win a Super Bowl if they got to play non playoff teams like the Browns or Jets to advance instead of facing the Packers and Saints :)

Wait a minute... The Browns and/or the Jets just might make the playoffs this year. It's the NFL... remember?!?
Besides... drag racing playoffs are the BEST! The COUNTDOWN Bunting lining the fences - it brings a special excitement that we don't get in the drag racing "regular season" and... we all know
PJ really loves The COUNTDOWN!!! (just like me) LMAO
 
Regardless of how you feel about that race, you have to admit it was far more exciting than any Countdown championship. Shoe had to do the nearly impossible to win, the odds were squarely against him, yet he pulled it off. THAT was excitement.


Alan Johnson had to pull off a miracle.................
 
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