mikebcurve
Nitro Member
COMMENTARY: BOBBY BENNETT - HAS THE COUNTDOWN RUN ITS COURSE? | Competition Plus
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Yes!!!!
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COMMENTARY: BOBBY BENNETT - HAS THE COUNTDOWN RUN ITS COURSE?
- Thread starter mikebcurve
- Start date
Yes!!!!
Z28LT1
Nitro Member
I agree that if they (NHRA) want to continue the Clowndown nonsense, it needs to be overhauled. I'd like to see the top 8 cars, that were at every race on tour leading up to the clowndown, go into a run-off for the championship. Then they should be on the same side of the ladder during eliminations during this part of the season. I don't care how they are paired up, either by qualifying performance, or current points standings going into the race. either way, you have "playoff" teams racing other "playoff" teams. Bobby is right that it makes no sense that a non-contender can take out a contending car. Just my $0.02
I'd personally like to see it scrapped all together and reward the best team over the course of the entire season for the scope of their overall performance, not just a few races.
I'd personally like to see it scrapped all together and reward the best team over the course of the entire season for the scope of their overall performance, not just a few races.
What's this countdown thing 
Like Nate I've argued that an 8 car playoff field that is all on one side of the ladder would be better than the current mess. The finals would then be between playoff and non playoff people so it should be for no points, just prize money and trophy.
While I still prefer a season long champ, Bobby's idea does have some intrigue to it. It would maintain the season long part that most of us enjoy while not give points away for people to catch up. It would still give the chance for people to make a run at the end of the season if the leader stumbles for a race or two.
It would be interesting to see how that scenario would have played out in the top ten the last season or two and what not only places would change but points difference between the places.
If they actually changed it, I'd have to finally get a new avatar.
Like Nate I've argued that an 8 car playoff field that is all on one side of the ladder would be better than the current mess. The finals would then be between playoff and non playoff people so it should be for no points, just prize money and trophy.
While I still prefer a season long champ, Bobby's idea does have some intrigue to it. It would maintain the season long part that most of us enjoy while not give points away for people to catch up. It would still give the chance for people to make a run at the end of the season if the leader stumbles for a race or two.
It would be interesting to see how that scenario would have played out in the top ten the last season or two and what not only places would change but points difference between the places.
If they actually changed it, I'd have to finally get a new avatar.
Von Halen
Nitro Member
I wonder where I'd have finished in the Pick The Winner if we had done the countdown in that?What's this countdown thing
Like Nate I've argued that an 8 car playoff field that is all on one side of the ladder would be better than the current mess. The finals would then be between playoff and non playoff people so it should be for no points, just prize money and trophy.
While I still prefer a season long champ, Bobby's idea does have some intrigue to it. It would maintain the season long part that most of us enjoy while not give points away for people to catch up. It would still give the chance for people to make a run at the end of the season if the leader stumbles for a race or two.
It would be interesting to see how that scenario would have played out in the top ten the last season or two and what not only places would change but points difference between the places.
If they actually changed it, I'd have to finally get a new avatar.
I'm with you but the question is, how would you do that? That's basically what they did before the Countdown and we had racers winning Championships in Dallas with 3 races left.
Would NASCAR's system work? If applied to NHRA it would go something like this....start with points beginning with the first of the last 6 races. The bottom 2 or 3 (NASCAR knocks of the bottom 4 after the final 10 races since they always have a 40 car field) would be eliminated after each race, winding up with the top 4 drivers at the start of the Finals - the same as NASCAR winds up with at its final race. At the conclusion of the Finals, the driver with the most points accrued over the last 6 events wins the championship. If a top 4 contender gets knocked out early, it doesn't mean a lower team gets in - it means there's 3 championship contenders left. That's how NASCAR's 'chase' works.
Z28LT1
Nitro Member
If a class championship is wrapped up before the finals; who cares? They obviously raced their ass off and deserve to coast after they've clinched. If we're being honest, there were plenty of seasons where the championships came down to the finals. Off the top of my head in just top fuel, I can think of 89 or 90 between Ormsby and Amato, in '07 between Shoe and Kalitta, I'm sure there are plenty more than that I'm just not thinking of.
Somebody cared.....the Countdown was born in 2007 out of that very situation. Not saying it was the perfect solution or if it even helped; I'm not a big fan of it. I prefer how NASCAR does it.
Having a champion crowned 2 or 3 races prior to the finals (I'm aware that quite a few went down to the wire pre-countdown - "The Run" comes to mind) is like crowning an NFL 16-0 team as the national champion after a divisional playoff game, 2 games before they play the Super Bowl, because it's numerically impossible for any other team to score that many wins before the season ends. Boring indeed.
Z28LT1
Nitro Member
The Clowndown was born out of nothing more than monkey see, monkey do. NHRA saw NASCRAP do it and decided to copy it. That's it. There was literally no one complaining about how it was done before and no reason to change it other than because someone else was changing it. That is just one of the reasons I will never like the Clowndown. It wasn't broken before.
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Don't get me wrong; I'm not a big fan of the countdown. The driver with the most points at the conclusion of the season should be awarded the championship. But not all fans liked a dominant car/driver walking away with the prize with 1/4 of the season left and neither did NASCAR's new 2004 sponsor, Nextel. NASCAR modified the way they conduct their chase 4 or 5 times over the years and the current version seems pretty fair in my opinion. NHRA played along as you say but their version didn't and doesn't always award fairly. Time for some changes; I'm just not sure going back to pre-2007 is the most equitable answer.
