Countdown :-(

[none]

One year a champion was crowned and only beat 2 "playoff" drivers through the countdown.

When was that?
Alan

 

[PJ]

First or second year, either Curz or Tony I dont' recall. I think they beat Hight and Beckman then a bunch of non-countdown cars

 

[mick]

being in fight for countdown @ indy has proven to be a pretty good spot to be in.
terry mcmillen has got good press 3x this year.....racing to final in gainesville, explosion in houston, and fighting for 10th place @ indy.

 

[SoCal Racer]

But if a team like Elite, gets their act together with their Hemi cars, they could have a chance.

There's a part of me that hopes this is exactly how it plays out. Then maybe NHRA will see the folly of their ways.

My biggest beef with the countdown to the chase to a playoff for a championship (or whatever it is called) is that the championship is really based on only six races, rather than rewarding a team for a full season of solid performances. 2009 comes to mind when had it not been for John's blatant dive at Indy, Robert would not have even been in the countdown, nor received what I will always view as a contrived championship. Nothing against Robert, but his season prior to Indy was nothing, and winning the championship made the better showings of the other 9 top 10 teams in the previous 18 races count for nothing.

All those years when greats like The Snake or King Kenny were crushing the competition to earn championships, I wonder how many of those would have been lost had they faced the countdown?

 

[Greggo]

I almost kinda wish there was a countdown for the alky cars.

 

[Justin@NRE]

I almost kinda wish there was a countdown for the alky cars.

The Countdown was started to add some excitement to the end of the season events. Last couple years since the retirements of Jim Whiteley, Manzo and Reichert, the Championships have gone down to the wire. Now if we were still running against Frank, Bill and Jim, and they were throwing down like they used to, hell yeah, Top Alcohol needs a countdown. lol. But it has been pretty exciting down to the wire the last 2 years. Joey has a pretty stout lead in TAD, but in TAFC the top 3 cars are separated by a whopping 35 points. Top 3 in TAFC last year was a 12 point gap(Jonnie won by 2 points!), and Joey won TAD by 32 points. 2014 there were 80-90 point gaps between #1 and #2 in both classes. 2013 was over 100 points between #1 and #2 in both classes. I don't think the T/A classes are hurting for any points chase excitement in recent history. Although judging by your post signature, I can see why you'd be in favor of a Chase this year.

 

[stitcherbob]

not a big fan of the countdown, but we need a link to the thread that showed mathematically the majority of the Champs crowned under it would have won it the old way....anyone remember who posted that one?

 

[vegasnitro]

I almost kinda wish there was a countdown for the alky cars.

Ain't nobody got time fo dat.

 

[none]

First or second year, either Curz or Tony I dont' recall. I think they beat Hight and Beckman then a bunch of non-countdown cars

The first year was strange because of the format, and you're right about the last two races where nobody raced head to head, but since they changed that format it's been much better.
Alan

 

[Leebone]

Well, I started this thread. If Capps or a KB car doesn't win, I'll scream. They earned their respective huge points lead.

 

[mick]

KB racing already won.....more prize money (can't imagine anyone can catch them in that dept., especially considering 3 cars per race either winning, r/u, or semis at almost all the races).....and they crushed jegs in exposure, which other than winning, i would guess is their main objective.
IMO i really don't see where the C has helped the nhra at all in post labor day attendance or tv ratings.

 

[PJ]

The first year was strange because of the format, and you're right about the last two races where nobody raced head to head, but since they changed that format it's been much better.
Alan

HA you thought I was making them up lol

True that was in the double cut down year. Still racers are able to line up against non playoff cars. Champs have been crowned without going to all the races. It's just a bad system. Although I would love them to ditch the countdown there are ways to fix it and make it better, although not as good as season long champ, but still better.

 

[Dennis]

I have no studies to back this up but my feelings on this countdown is this.

Aside from the racers, I think that the only people who care about the year end champion are those on these message boards. In other words, a base that numbers in the hundreds. Maybe a thousand. I think that the average, and even above average fan only care about who wins at that race where their butts are in the seats. The reason championships work in other sports (World Series, Super Bowl, etc) are because these teams are the best of the best against a finite pool of competitors. Each team gets the same number of chances to beat "team X" throughout the regular season as any other team.

Outside of National Dragster, are there any sponsors singing the tunes of their driver winning the Mello Yellow championship? No, it's a few bucks and a trophy to put in the case. That's not to say it's not important to the drivers, I'm not saying it's completely meaningless, but you could take away all points and you are still going to get the same number of fans in the seats.

Personally, I think it would be cool to have a biennial event hosting the top cars from every sanctioning body around to world for an Olympic type competition, at a different location every time.

The NHRA product as it stands sells itself regardless of points and quirky qualifying rules. It's one of the things Wally had right, it's about the cars, and NHRA needs to get back to focusing on that.

 

[mick]

Dennis,
everything you said is rite on....i almost had the same long post typed, then shortened it.....i only differ with you in that i think you need cars and stars......yes, the cars sell themselves, but the fan needs to put a face with the machine.......remember diehard not coming back after their 'championship' with hagan......and yes, absolutely each race is it's own great event with winners and losers and each fan trying to get the best experience they can......pomona 2 used to be standing room only, even when points races were already decided, it was better entertainment.

 

[DrRocket]

Personally, I think it would be cool to have a biennial event hosting the top cars from every sanctioning body around to world for an Olympic type competition, at a different location every time.

Interesting Idea. What would we name it? Let's see.....

I have it. How about:
International Race Of Champions?

Actually Dennis, I pretty much agree with your post as it relates to average fan interest in the championship. It most certainly does matter to the teams, though.

 

[PJ]

Dennis, you are right, which makes it even odder to piss off die hards. The NHL did this years ago and chased off many hardcore fans.

The average fan only cares about the race in their town or that one on the TV. Each race is already a playoff.

 

[ironpony]

just thinking out loud here after reading certain scenarios.

what about the champion being crowned without even winning one event for the year??
constantly placing high as Eddie Krawiec did one year, he won the championship and no events.
does this make the whole system flawed?

perhaps most event wins = champ?
tied for wins = play off at Pomona

 

[Dennis]

just thinking out loud here after reading certain scenarios.

what about the champion being crowned without even winning one event for the year??
constantly placing high as Eddie Krawiec did one year, he won the championship and no events.
does this make the whole system flawed?

If I recall correctly, Tony Shoe's 1999 championship came with only one event win. And that was pre-countdown, so it's not inconceivable that it could happen with any points system.

 

[none]

just thinking out loud here after reading certain scenarios.

what about the champion being crowned without even winning one event for the year??
constantly placing high as Eddie Krawiec did one year, he won the championship and no events.
does this make the whole system flawed?

perhaps most event wins = champ?
tied for wins = play off at Pomona

Everyone recalls Eddie Krawiec's 2008 Championship, but don't forget that before the Countdown, Rob Bruins won the 1979 Top Fuel Championship without winning a National event.

 

[ironpony]

I must not of explained my thought correctly, my point was how can you be a champion and never won an event??? How many multiple winners were there those years that were not champions?