New countdown points system announced (2 Viewers)

[mick]

get rid of the playoffs. have a season long points deal just like it used to be.....take the $500k end of year check and spread it out over 6 'majors' throughout the year. indy of course being one of them, but 4 may change annually, allowing every venue a chance for increased attendance and car counts........there will be an additional $2-300k available at finals because
nhra finds a hotel sponsor that kicks in a season ending $100k bonus and another $100k available at the last 'major' that also will not change; The Allegiant Air Finals in vegas.

 

[NHRA_PS]

I see it as a way for NHRA to try and boost car counts might not work but worth a shot

 

[Bullard Anderson]

Theoretically, winning 18 straight races is worth........drum roll please....."check that" (Jim Rome reference).....cue the Gong Show hammer...20 points!!
Dear NHRA, I so don't care.

Sincerely,
Long time fan.

 

[AZGARY]

How many points for sucker punching your opponent top end during the countdown? NO I'm not letting it go!

 

[MM]

How many points for sucker punching your opponent top end during the countdown? NO I'm not letting it go!

 

[Jer]

How many points for sucker punching your opponent top end during the countdown? NO I'm not letting it go!

Depends who you are and who you hit LMAO

 

[Tom Slick]

I'm curious, does the NHRA listen to the fans and more importantly the team owners when they come up with these rule changes? Or do the powers that be head out of their posh Glendora office to a fancy sushi lunch and after several bottles of sake' decide that this is a good idea with zero input by those affected most?

At the end of the season the Championship should be awarded to the Best of the Best regardless of the road traveled. If guys like Billy Torrance, Mike Salinas, Bob Vandergriff and others choose to run a limited schedule for any reason, but when they do show up and kick everyone's ass they should not be penalized for not making every event.

I get why they are trying this because they need car count, but this isn't the way to do it. And quite frankly, I thought it was pretty cool that Torrence and Salinas ran well enough at the races they came out for to make the Countdown. It shows that some of the other full timers need to step up their game if they want to make the Countdown. Now we are just going to give them participation trophies. Honestly I don't see this rule change having much effect, as part timers are part timers and full timers are full timers. Part timers know full well going into the season that they may not make the Countdown, nor do they plan to. For Torrence it was a bonus to his season, as he didn't plan to run all of the races, including the Countdown. But when he made the cut he figured why not give it a go.

 

[Tom Slick]

And one more thing...If the NHRA wants to have the Countdown, which as a fan I personally like because it brings the Championship drama to the end of the season rather than some classes having wrapped up several races from the end, they should eliminate the top ten deal and just do a points reset for every car that earned points throughout the season regardless of how many races they ran. This way if you are the guy that is in 12th place coming out of Indy, he would still have a mathematical shot at the title.

 

[MHayes]

If guys like Billy Torrance, Mike Salinas, Bob Vandergriff and others choose to run a limited schedule for any reason, but when they do show up and kick everyone's ass they should not be penalized for not making every event.

Based on this comment, it's apparent that you either did not read or understand the changes that NHRA made.

 

[Tom Slick]

Based on this comment, it's apparent that you either did not read or understand the changes that NHRA made.

You are correct, I just went back and re-read the changes and I misread them. I was under the impression that there was still a top 10 ONLY situation and part time teams would be penalized and bumped for full participant teams. My bad!

 

[Rat]

Theoretically, winning 18 straight races is worth........drum roll please....."check that" (Jim Rome reference).....cue the Gong Show hammer...20 points!!
Dear NHRA, I so don't care.

Sincerely,
Long time fan.

Why I forever hate the countdown. This is what? Revamp # 4 in 13 years? If you win 18 races and you go into the countdown that way. You then go on to have 6 round 1 exits, but you are telling me THEY LOSE THE CHAMPIONSHIP because their 18 straight wins are worthless and they can finish in 10th place? Nope! Could you imagine last year if Billy Torrence in fact DID win the championship only running 17 of 24? He could have won it all, even though he only ran 70% of the season.

There needs to be further fixing. I am now being told if 2 cars make 18 races, yet car 1 qualified at all and car 2 DNQ'ed at 8, they go into the countdown even when it is reset? Even if car you passed car 1 in points with much better outings then car 1, yet car 2 goes into the countdown 10 points down?

 

[Bob K.]

Your keyboard participation trophy is in the mail.

GOOD ONE TONY! I sure would like to meet you some day, I was on David Baca's team for three years. I started racing in 1961, many
different classes. I always enjoy your posts. Lots of knowledge and common sense! Your team always seems to do well on the limited
schedule you guys run!

 

[camaro]

i fail to see the logic behind this. the majority teams that do not attend all the races do so because, i'm assuming they dont have the funds. so if the nhra gives them the incentive of making the countdown, if they attend all races, where are the funds they didn't have before, gonna come from now ? this sounds like an idea from the same guy, that suggested shorter wheelie bars, decals etc. for the big pro stock revival

 

[Just Paul]

I don't see what the big deal is. For the nitro cars compared to last year, it's an extra 2 cars per class that in all honesty are not going to win the championship anyway. It takes away some of the drama in Indy and putting your name on the top 10 board, but that's about it.

 

[DAN]

A team with funding to compete at 18 will continue to run 18. And that in itself is a feat in today's corporate America.
I wouldn't be surprised to see an adjustment to 20 rounds and no Countdown by 2022.

 

[Cliff]

BOBBY BENNETT: WELCOME TO THE PARTICIPATION TROPHY ERA | Competition Plus

The NHRA’s decision to revamp the Countdown to Championship has many scratching their heads, including me. It’s not hard to see what NHRA is hoping to achieve; they want to inspire more participation and competition amongst the teams they expect to follow them along a not always financially...

www.competitionplus.com

 

[Cliff]

REACTION FROM THE PITS REGARDING 2020 COUNTDOWN REVISIONS | Competition Plus

The changes NHRA announced Jan. 22 and made to get into the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship provided similar thoughts of frustration from team owner Bob Vandergriff Jr., Pro Stock pilot Matt Hartford and Pro Stock Motorcycle world champ Matt Smith and one different...

www.competitionplus.com

 

[Rat]

I don't see what the big deal is. For the nitro cars compared to last year, it's an extra 2 cars per class that in all honesty are not going to win the championship anyway. It takes away some of the drama in Indy and putting your name on the top 10 board, but that's about it.

That made Indy at least more exiciting in a way, so now you kill that too? Not a fan! 2019 could have been countdown under 20 rules:

TF: Ferre, Palmer, McMillen
FC: Campbell, Diehl, Haddock, Pedregon
PS: Cuadra, Delco, Prusiensky,
PSB: 0

 

[SoCal Racer]

There seems to be two camps represented here. One is the people who feel the championship should go to the person who accumulated the most total points no matter when they clinch, kind of like the old WCS system. That's where I stand, but I get the other group that likes the drama of the Countdown even though the champion may not have been the best, most dominant points earner for the year, but did well at the last six races. Yet to me that's why wins like Brittany's in 2017 are hollow and contrived. She was hardly stellar throughout the regular season and without the reset could not have won the championship. I just can't make peace between that and my sense of fairness.

On top of that NHRA wants it all to be decided in Pomona. So what to do? Those of us who have been around the sport a while remember the days when the World Champion was simply the winner of the World Finals. NHRA seems hellbent on having the championship decided at Pomona, so why not just return to that format instead of all this rules tweaking, points manipulation, and mathematical gyrations to determine a champion? At the end of the day the real fans know who dominated all year, and that's who gets their respect - trophy or not.

Edit: I'm not advocating for that system as it is as bad as the Countdown when it comes to offering a chance to win a championship unearned or undeservedly.

 

[MHayes]

I just can't make peace between that and my sense of fairness.

So you pretty much dislike how champions are determined in almost every sport then.