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Countdown doing its job? (1 Viewer)

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robinjackson

Nitro Member
Accept it or loathe it, the Countdown is doing what it's intended to do in Top Fuel and Funny Car:

POMONA 2 - Nitro Preview

Drag racing results, news photos and highlights from NHRA and IHRA series events
www.dragracecentral.com

Each qualifying session and each round of racing promises a material influence on both championship outcomes and I shall be glued to DragRaceCentral on all three days. Eliminations kick off at 7pm UK time and finish around midnight so my Sunday evening's entertainment is mapped out.

If that's the effect the Countdown is meant to achieve, it's working.

Flame away, folks.
 
Here’s my opinion on the deal, I want to see the person who consistently performs over 21-24 races win the championship. But, like Bob Tasca said, it’s their court and their basketball. I still love watching fast nitro cars no matter what.
 
robinjackson said:
Accept it or loathe it, the Countdown is doing what it's intended to do in Top Fuel and Funny Car:

POMONA 2 - Nitro Preview

Drag racing results, news photos and highlights from NHRA and IHRA series events
www.dragracecentral.com

Each qualifying session and each round of racing promises a material influence on both championship outcomes and I shall be glued to DragRaceCentral on all three days. Eliminations kick off at 7pm UK time and finish around midnight so my Sunday evening's entertainment is mapped out.

If that's the effect the Countdown is meant to achieve, it's working.

Flame away, folks.
Click to expand...

Ok so what was/is it supposed to be doing?
If it is to help the small teams have a better chance at winning a championship, then it has obviously failed by every measure.

If the intention was to have the championship decided at the final race of the season, then it has only moderately succeeded and could have achieved the same result without a countdown by decreeing the finals are the world championships as was the case in the long ago past.

If the intention was to cheapen the season and allow big teams to win that otherwise would not have without a point reset, then it's been an overwhelming success.

If they intentinon was to generate more fan interest and increase attendance, I'd say it's failed there too.


Agree with Mr. Winn - I'll take loathe for $2000 too and double up for double Jeopardy.
 
The NHRA must have come up with the idea (or stolen it from NASCAR) to either get more fans in the stands or higher TV ratings. Since it has done neither, and probably alienated some fans, I say it has failed. At least it has not become a total clown show like NASCAR has over the years as they come up with gimmick after gimmick, but still keep losing fans.
 
I believe the intention of the Countdown was to prevent a team from wrapping up the Championship by September (such as happened several times with Force, Schumacher, and several years in Pro Stock if I remember correctly) and thereby taking the excitement out of the rest of the season for those classes. Under the old system, there were still years where the Championship went down to the last race of the year, or even the Final round. So the old system worked well much of the time, but with the Countdown, (and now with Points-and-a half for Pomona) it almost always goes down to the wire and generates excitement at Pomona 2 in all the Pro classes.
 
I think Jon has it exactly right as to intent. Changing the format is probably better than scrapping the countdown. Personally, I think the countdown is too long and should be maybe four races. If you don’t like the idea of only the top 8 eligible for the championship, how about this:
For the final four (countdown) events, run pairings are determined by current points vs qualifying time. So #1 in points runs #2 first round, 3 v 4 etc. Then each round the pairings are again highest points vs second highest etc. This would help create a different mix/excitement at end of season and those on the bottom of the points run each other so they can win some rounds. Also prevents positioning in qualifying to knock out the top car.

OK, too much wine last night but since we’re in ‘hate the countdown’ season, maybe generate some ideas while bored before this huge weekend. Sorry to see the season go.
 
J. S. said:
I believe the intention of the Countdown was to prevent a team from wrapping up the Championship by September (such as happened several times with Force, Schumacher, and several years in Pro Stock if I remember correctly) and thereby taking the excitement out of the rest of the season for those classes. Under the old system, there were still years where the Championship went down to the last race of the year, or even the Final round. So the old system worked well much of the time, but with the Countdown, (and now with Points-and-a half for Pomona) it almost always goes down to the wire and generates excitement at Pomona 2 in all the Pro classes.
Click to expand...

Another intent for the Countdown was that teams that did not make Countdown could still have a significant impact on the championship by acting as spoilers. Having the finalists start over when the countdown began meant that no one would have a large enough points lead that they could afford to lose a race to a team that was not another finalist.
 
Hmmm not sure where I stand on the countdown :)

Aren't two classes pretty much wrapped up going into the finals.

I much prefer season long champs but there are ways to fix the countdown. it would still not be great but better than this.
 
As a fan, I like the countdown. In most years the championship would be wrapped up prior to the last couple of races of the season. For the racers who had the best year it totally sucks. Work hard, run well only to lose your points lead in September isn’t fair. My interest in PSB in Vegas was nil because the championship was over. Same with PS in Pomona this weekend.

I also don’t think the regular season plays out the same without the countdown. While Justin Ashley was running the best he could during our “regular season”, other teams were working to be better in the fall than spring and summer. It’s not a coincidence that Kalitta, Pruett and Torrence are running the best they have all season in the last 5 races. Brittany’s team wouldn’t have been working on a new combo this year if there was no countdown.
 
One car could win EVERY race during the regular season and be only 20 (or is it 30) points ahead of the the number 2 car (that didn't WIN any races) when the points are reset. Then the points leader loses in the first round and the second car goes to the semi-finals and that car is now the points leader. Oh yeah, that's fair.

The countdown sucks. It provides for more points excitement but is not fair to the racers.
 
Marchboom said:
One car could win EVERY race during the regular season and be only 20 (or is it 30) points ahead of the the number 2 car (that didn't WIN any races) when the points are reset. Then the points leader loses in the first round and the second car goes to the semi-finals and that car is now the points leader. Oh yeah, that's fair.
Click to expand...

OTOH, the Countdown helps prevent a situation like in 2008 when Eddie Krawiec won the Pro Stock Motorcycle championship without winning a single race.
 
J. S. said:
I believe the intention of the Countdown was to prevent a team from wrapping up the Championship by September (such as happened several times with Force, Schumacher, and several years in Pro Stock if I remember correctly) and thereby taking the excitement out of the rest of the season for those classes. Under the old system, there were still years where the Championship went down to the last race of the year, or even the Final round. So the old system worked well much of the time, but with the Countdown, (and now with Points-and-a half for Pomona) it almost always goes down to the wire and generates excitement at Pomona 2 in all the Pro classes.
Click to expand...
I don't think that occurred enough to warrant implementing the countdown. Simply put, NHRA copied the idea from NASCAR, where it also essentially failed.

And to that end, I maintain is has not really done what it was intended. It sure hasn't helped the smaller teams at all.
 
I've had an extreme dislike of the countdown ever since Rod Fuller lost the 2007 championship by less than one round. That was a career year for him, only to see the NHRA welfare system kick in.
But, that's from a personal viewpoint. Yes, it was 16 years ago but that doesn't change my opinion of the countdown.
I worked on a project with Rod for over five years and having that championship trophy to show off would have been great. Blowing the tires off in the first round at the Finals in Pomona lost the championship for him. Win that round, and he is champion.
Shoot, had he won just one more round at any point in the countdown, he likely would have been champion.
 
the only thing the C has really achieved is disallowing competitive teams from earning a spot in the C while not running all races up to and including indy.
the billy torrence rule. who cares. it makes vegas II and pomona kinda' fun i guess. i always remember hagan winning it all with diehard sponsorship.
diehard loved it so much, they never came back
 
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