TOP FUEL POINTS

[yoda]

Bored in mid-season

Just another good reason to eliminate some of the races. 12-16 National events a year will have die-hards chompin at the bit for every national event result. And regional match races in between nationals, promoted by local tracks or the sanctioning body, will keep the drivers sharp. And might get rid of some of those touring monstrosities- bring your car, a simple trailer and lots of fuel and go have fun and make a few bucks match racing...

 

[Bullard Anderson]

I agree Mike Miller.

What NASCAR, NHRA and even Major League Baseball since they went to expanded playoffs are so scared of is that 1 team will run away with a championship and no one will watch the last few races of the season. And make no mistake about it, this is all being done for TV ratings. What they fail to take into account, is that by making only the last few events truly count for something, is now no one has any incentive to watch a race/buy a ticket in the beginning-middle of the season. They can casually follow the standings via websites and TV snippets and then start paying attention at the end of the year, whereas people used to watch and follow a lot more.

I have said it a thousand times and I will say it again, playoffs in motor racing do not work. If NASCAR's Chase format was so good, they would use it in the Nationwide and Trucks Series too. The revised Chase format in Cup this year is an absolute joke. It is possible to win the first 35 races of the year and not win a Championship in the 36th. NASCAR jobbed themselves with the Chase this year out of either Dale Jr or Jeff Gordon being champion this year, which would be a much bigger deal than however it is going to shake out (granted Jeff still has a shot, but not a good one).

Chris, The entire Nationwide Series is the biggest joke in sports. 7 of the top 10 finishers 90 percent of the weeks aren't even eligible for the championship.

 

[Bullard Anderson]

I know that this has been said, the eras of looking back on a dominant team & giving them credit for dominating may be truly be over. It's a crapshot of sorts. And we are going to have champs where we look back and say "Really??? Like how did that happen?" It takes away from the mistque a bit. I am okay with the various playoff formats, not overzealous, but okay.

 

[Riley7]

Nascar and NHRA are apples and oranges.....but neither one of their playoff formats seem to be working out very well for either sanctioning body.

NHRA would be well suited to dump the Countdown. Drag Racing by it's very nature is an elimination format every weekend, right? I think it would be much more reflective of your body of work in a season if NHRA would go back to keeping track of points, both big and little, for the entire season. Maybe add some bonus points for an event win, just to set the value a bit higher for those that get out and dominate. If the class Championship is decided by Vegas, so what? At least that's reflective of your entire season, and isn't some fabricated drama for those drag race fans with limited attention spans.

As to Nascar, they've got a real mess on their hands now. It's very possible they'll have a Champion with 0-2 wins this year, and this was supposed to be THE YEAR that put winning races at a premium. Again, it's fabricated drama for casual fans in a limp-wrist attempt to keep people tuned in to Nascar racing during football season. The sanctioning body seems to revamp the "Chase" format every year, and they still don't get the results they're looking for. Truth be told, they'll never have a Championship Battle like they did back in 1992, and that was under the old, old points format. Nascar also needs to dump the Chase, and keep the points format they have now for winning, leading laps, etc. It won't be fabricated drama for casual fans, but it sure would be a reflection on the entire season, and make every single race just as important as every other race. Not sure the suits in Daytona Beach will ever figure this out, and judging by the expanses of bare aluminum they have had at nearly every event this year, they sure need to re-think their program. The Texas race this last weekend looked about half full.

 

[my friends call me Zappy]

NHRA would be well suited to dump the Countdown. Drag Racing by it's very nature is an elimination format every weekend, right? I think it would be much more reflective of your body of work in a season if NHRA would go back to keeping track of points, both big and little, for the entire season. Maybe add some bonus points for an event win, just to set the value a bit higher for those that get out and dominate. If the class Championship is decided by Vegas, so what? At least that's reflective of your entire season, and isn't some fabricated drama for those drag race fans with limited attention spans..

Bullseye, Spot On !!! Very well put sir. You covered it all in a nut shell. From your keyboard......to Glendora's ears.

 

[vegasnitro]

Chris, The entire Nationwide Series is the biggest joke in sports. 7 of the top 10 finishers 90 percent of the weeks aren't even eligible for the championship.

I understand what they were trying to do, keep the Cup interlopers from winning the Championship, but that has backfired as well. But at least there is no convoluted Chase format.