NASCAR drivers support new Chase despite peculiarities

FORT WORTH, Texas – Seven races into the revamped Chase for the Sprint Cup format, drivers continue to wrestle with the pros and cons of how the champion will be determined this season.

It's different – very different – from anything NASCAR has done in its history. The 10-race championship format used from 2004-13 has been replaced by a series of three-race mini-seasons where four drivers are eliminated each time, followed by a points reset. Then the title will be decided among four remaining drivers in the Nov. 16 championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

That's created a variety of unusual scenarios. Joey Logano would have a big lead in the old Chase but is no guarantee to race for the title this season, Ryan Newman is threatening to become the first winless champ in NASCAR's premier series and six-time titlist Jimmie Johnson is on the sidelines with little to race for.

The drivers have embraced the format for a couple reasons: First, they believe it's what the fans want and they must go along with it for the good of the sport. Second, there's nothing they can do about it.

"Is it what we all as racers think should happen and is it the best way to go about it, falling back on the history of our sport in determining a champion? No," Johnson said. "But we have to pay attention to who is sitting out in the stands, in my opinion."

Johnson said the format "has seemed bizarre since the onset," but when NASCAR chairman Brian France called him before the season to tell him the direction the sport was going, Johnson said he made a "conscious decision" to support it.

"I understand that from an economic standpoint tracks, NASCAR, the race teams for sure are in a bind and we are in a tough situation," he said. "So we need to make some change. This is the decision they made and we have certainly seen the drama. It seems like attendance is going in the right way, ad buys are going the right way and TV viewership is up."

Actually, TV ratings and viewership have been down in every Chase race but one. But Johnson's point is drivers believe they need to support what is good for of NASCAR's long-term health. NASCAR concluded the format it had before was not generating enough excitement or viewers and had data that showed fans would favor eliminations.

"I feel that I need to take a different approach and think of it differently and think of what is good for the sport," Johnson said. "… This is really being put back in the fans' hands. At the end of the day, if there are more people tuning in and watching, we are creating the drama and sponsorship is in the sport, then it is what we need to do."

Denny Hamlin, who has been supportive of the Chase format, said the championship would be determined by a 36-week format if it were up to the drivers.

"We want the entire year to be a part of the picture," he said. "It's a green-white-checkered every three races for the race fans. Anything can happen.

"I don't know if it's what the fans wanted, but it's what the fans have got. Really, it's been pretty exciting. ... But it is tough to say we would want it this way if we had to choose."

Points leader Jeff Gordon said he never knows quite what fans want but has repeatedly endorsed the new format and did so again on Friday.

"I love this format," Gordon said. "I think this format is amazing. I hope that (fans) like it. I don't know how you make it any more interesting or any more exciting or tense than what they have.

"We feel it here in the garage area. I would think that they would sense and feel it. And from a lot of fans that I've spoken to, they do."

Newman acknowledged his position in the Chase – second in the point standings despite no wins and just four top-15 finishes this season – is unusual. But that's the path that was laid out before the season, he said, and everyone understood the rules.

"It's not the typical equation that you have where performance is equal to championship run," he said. "At the same time, this points system is a little bit different this year. ... It's my standard answer, but it is what it is. We're riding the wave that's presented to us, and we're having fun with it."

Still, some of them can't help but wonder what might have been under the old system.

"I was told today that we would have a 40-something point lead if it was last year's points system," Logano said. "That part breaks my heart a little because we are third in points right now."