The Chase - What Say You

[Roamy]

I have mixed emotions about the chase. I think Montoya drove just to get in except at Indy. So most of the year you didn't see the real Montoya. I assume other drivers did the same. I didn't think Montoya was brilliant on the road courses and that is his forte. So maybe to qualify it is the top 12 but you can be replaced by someone who won a race.

[Mark in Oshawa]

Fousto, for me to buy your argument, I would have to accept that Juan wasn't trying to win. All JPM was doing was being careful not to gamble on something that MIGHT give him a win, vs a good finish. When guys points race, they know winning will give them more points so there is an idea in the public they are not trying to win that just isn't there. JPM was running in the top 5 often. I am sure he was driving his butt off BUT he wasn't going to do anything stupid either. There is no point in winning 4 races if you have 6 DNF's or sub 30th place finishes to go with it and you miss the chase.

Believe me, JPM did his best every week. IT just appears he was crusing only because of the way he and Pattie talked about their not taking chances or gambling for a win.

[harvick#1]

the chase sucks, always has, always will. the only way for me the chase to get any credibility would be to rotate tracks for the final 10. its pointless to see the same 10 tracks in and half all are cookie cutters.

also to see a driver who wins a race automatically qualify is a farce. that would mean Montoya, Edwards, Newman, and Biffle be replaces by Lagano, Busch, Keselowski, Kenseth, and Reutimann.

the 4 got in by being consistent, not win or wreck, thats why Busch was out, he took too many stupid risks and is out because of it.

[The instant classic]

the chase sucks, always has, always will. the only way for me the chase to get any credibility would be to rotate tracks for the final 10. its pointless to see the same 10 tracks in and half all are cookie cutters.

also to see a driver who wins a race automatically qualify is a farce. that would mean Montoya, Edwards, Newman, and Biffle be replaces by Lagano, Busch, Keselowski, Kenseth, and Reutimann.

the 4 got in by being consistent, not win or wreck, thats why Busch was out, he took too many stupid risks and is out because of it.


the chase only helps one driver jimmie the chase is such jimmie style of racing too do nothing all race long but last 10-20 laps its super jimmie
the chase works so well for him do nothing all year long

and i agree on same 10 tracks, i was talking with my bro about the same thing last night, we talk about the chase should add mix things up like move the glen into the chase anything to shake things up

after since the chase was made the ratings have drop off, im sure alot of fans think like hey the first half of the season is pointless it really means nothing cuz of the chase, and the 2nd half of the season if my fave doesn't make the chase why watch?

[wedge]

I have mixed emotions about the chase. I think Montoya drove just to get in except at Indy. So most of the year you didn't see the real Montoya. I assume other drivers did the same. I didn't think Montoya was brilliant on the road courses and that is his forte. So maybe to qualify it is the top 12 but you can be replaced by someone who won a race.

Interesting theory.

JPM is desperate (if it was me, I would be pretty desparate too) to get that monkey off his back and that oval win.

He's a hard racer. I like how DW described JPM at Bristol as "oldschool - hit me once, I'll hit you twice".

I'd like to assume that JPM has managed to curb his temparant. At Sonoma for example he went backwards after running second. JPM could've bullied his way back to the front if he'd wanted to.


the chase sucks, always has, always will. the only way for me the chase to get any credibility would be to rotate tracks for the final 10. its pointless to see the same 10 tracks in and half all are cookie cutters.

The Chase sucks, regardless what tracks you run on. Last year proved it when Carl Edwards would've won under the old points system. All the Chase does is award the driver who peaks in the last 10 races.

[Roamy]

Fousto, for me to buy your argument, I would have to accept that Juan wasn't trying to win. All JPM was doing was being careful not to gamble on something that MIGHT give him a win, vs a good finish. When guys points race, they know winning will give them more points so there is an idea in the public they are not trying to win that just isn't there. JPM was running in the top 5 often. I am sure he was driving his butt off BUT he wasn't going to do anything stupid either. There is no point in winning 4 races if you have 6 DNF's or sub 30th place finishes to go with it and you miss the chase.

Believe me, JPM did his best every week. IT just appears he was crusing only because of the way he and Pattie talked about their not taking chances or gambling for a win.

Mark I think this is my point so well said. But he was rocking at Indy til he got stiffed!!

[Wade91]

the chase is awesome :D if we didn't have the chase in the cup, the points race would pretty boring,

i think the nationwide and truck series need the chase format also

[Sparky1329]

The "Chase" is stupid and always has been.

[harvick#1]

the chase is awesome :D if we didn't have the chase in the cup, the points race would pretty boring,

i think the nationwide and truck series need the chase format also

the Truck Series went into the final laps in the season Finale for the past 2 seasons.

The season has always rewarded consistency and "EVERY" race mattered. Now with the idiot chase and the rules, Mark Martin who was 500 points behind Stewart is now the point leader, thats kinda messed up

Brian France ruined Nascar, I really wished he and all the other players in the system are gone, and replace them with guys that actually want to listen to the fans

[jeffmr2]

I would like to see only the top 5 drivers in points plus any driver that wins 5 races in regular season to make the chase.Regular season to be 30 races and the chase 6 races(with only best 5 results to count).The tracks i would select being Vegas,Texas,Martinville,Bristol,Sonoma with some variety each year but always back to Daytona for finale.
Just my take on it,i guess we all have our own version of what would work.

[call_me_andrew]

Brian France ruined Nascar, I really wished he and all the other players in the system are gone, and replace them with guys that actually want to listen to the fans

Brian doesn't strike me as a "hands-on guy". I think he would have been content to leave NASCAR alone and enjoy his trust fund. I put more of the blame on Mike Helton.

[Sparky1329]

The stupid Chase has Brian France's fingerprints all over it. He's the one who wanted NASCAR to be more like the NFL. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that racing isn't anything like football but most people don't have their snoots in a glass of bourbon as BF is reportedly doing quite a lot.

[race aficionado]

I have mixed emotions about the chase. I think Montoya drove just to get in except at Indy. So most of the year you didn't see the real Montoya. I assume other drivers did the same. I didn't think Montoya was brilliant on the road courses and that is his forte. So maybe to qualify it is the top 12 but you can be replaced by someone who won a race.

fousto, nice thread and it's nice to be in the Nascar forum for a change.

Now if JV were part of this circus it would be such fun . . . but that's another story :D

As for JPM and the chase, I am a newbie and I am so happy that after three years of learning the ropes and sticking with Chip and the team, Juan is now banging it with the Nascar front runners.

I don't understand why they don't have a road course in the final races that form part of this 'Chase".

I agree with those that say: mix it up.

I want him to go all balls out and to give us that crazy brilliant JPM we fans are accustomed to.

Also, Juan is figuring it out.

This is what he said in a recent interview:

----you have to be aggressive when you have to be aggressive and you have to be smart when you've got to be smart. When it's restart and it's time to go, you have to go and when it's time to save the car, you have to save the car. Saving the car and the brakes and the tires, I'm not used to that. I was like flat shot all the time and here, you have to look a lot of people are giving you advice, don't use the car so hard; try to go at fast as you can without abusing the car. There's weeks where it really clicks and you wonder, why am I passing people so easy and I'm not even trying here. But if you try, you probably run slower and kill the tires. It's really weird. It's a really fine balance between being really good and really balance.

from:
http://www.paddocktalk.com/news/html/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=119222&newlang=&topic=11&catid=21

:s mokin:

[Wade91]

the Truck Series went into the final laps in the season Finale for the past 2 seasons.

The season has always rewarded consistency and "EVERY" race mattered. Now with the idiot chase and the rules, Mark Martin who was 500 points behind Stewart is now the point leader, thats kinda messed up

Brian France ruined Nascar, I really wished he and all the other players in the system are gone, and replace them with guys that actually want to listen to the fans
but that the point though, Tony Stewart had such a big lead it was unlikely anyone would have cought up, and the last 10 races would be pretty boreing, but with the chase the championship battle is just begening :D

your right about truck series though, it usreally has good point battles right down to the final race, (altough it might not this year) and the truck series season, seems to be to short for a chase anyway, but i think the Nationwide series should have a chase

[Sparky1329]

So what if Smoke was leading the points race by a huge margin? He earned those points legitimately. At least it was in real competition and not in some convoluted bogus "playoff" format.

If NASCAR would add more points for wins then winning would have more value. As it stands right now consistency has more value. I lean more toward consistency as a better measuring stick of team performance.

If we're going to be stuck with the stupid Chase I strongly agree that a road course race should be a part of it. A champion should be able to be consistent on all types of tracks.

[harvick#1]

The stupid Chase has Brian France's fingerprints all over it. He's the one who wanted NASCAR to be more like the NFL. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that racing isn't anything like football but most people don't have their snoots in a glass of bourbon as BF is reportedly doing quite a lot.

thats the problem, the playoffs work in the stick and ball sports because the teams are split by Divisions and Conferences, so the best in each division play each other.

but for Nascar, everyone races each other every week, thats why the playoff is a true farce and doesn't earn a champion. The Ratings have sucked from the chase and there are plenty of fans to know the chase is a piece of crap, maybe after Nascar finally loses enough people not caring about the race and watching football, maybe they will realize to change the season back to a 36-race chase for the championship

[The instant classic]

i was watching a show last night about the chase, and they said
under the old point system Jeff Gordon wolud be a 6 time champ right now

[Sparky1329]

thats the problem, the playoffs work in the stick and ball sports because the teams are split by Divisions and Conferences, so the best in each division play each other.

but for Nascar, everyone races each other every week, thats why the playoff is a true farce and doesn't earn a champion. The Ratings have sucked from the chase and there are plenty of fans to know the chase is a piece of crap, maybe after Nascar finally loses enough people not caring about the race and watching football, maybe they will realize to change the season back to a 36-race chase for the championship

You're preaching to the choir with me, harv. I agree with you.

[Sparky1329]

i was watching a show last night about the chase, and they said
under the old point system Jeff Gordon wolud be a 6 time champ right now

If I was Jeff Gordon I'd be majorly ticked. I don't know how many years Jeff has left in NASCAR but I wouldn't be surprised to see him pack it in fairly soon. He has nothing to prove to anybody. His back probably wouldn't bother him if he wasn't racing and he's ruled out surgery. And he has a beautiful little girl to help raise.

[Lee Roy]

http://www.versus.com/nw/article/view/82761/?tf=press_center.tpl&UserDef=true



VERSUS REVS UP ADDITIONAL MOTORSPORTS COVERAGE WITH MULTI-YEAR NASCAR DEAL

NEW YORK, N.Y. (September 18, 2009)—VERSUS today announced a multi-year deal with NASCAR to air a fast-paced, up-close HD look at the 12 drivers competing in NASCAR’s 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup. The weekly, half-hour series titled Quest for the NASCAR Sprint Cup will air on VERSUS on Tuesday nights at 11 p.m. ET, beginning September 22, and will air each week until the conclusion of the 2009 NASCAR playoff season.

Quest for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, an adrenaline-filled show that offers motorsports fans stunning race footage with an intimate behind-the-scenes perspective, is a milestone in HD sports programming and was honored with a Sports Emmy® Award for “Outstanding Live Event Turnaround” in 2008. VERSUS and NASCAR will also partner on additional programming opportunities which will be announced when details become available.

“Just as we’re about to conclude our first year of IndyCar Series coverage, we look forward to the opportunity to extend our racing season through this new partnership with NASCAR,” said Marc Fein, Executive Vice President of Programming, Production and Business Operations for VERSUS. “VERSUS has become a top television destination for motorsports fans with our in-depth and all-encompassing coverage of the IndyCar Series and we are very excited to launch into a multi-year venture with NASCAR to showcase all the action and excitement surrounding their championship run.”

“We are delighted to partner with VERSUS on our Emmy-award winning Quest for the NASCAR Sprint Cup series,” said Jay Abraham, Chief Operating Officer of NASCAR Media Group. “With VERSUS being the fastest growing sports cable network in the country, this is one more way in which NASCAR can reach additional fans with the excitement of our playoffs, the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.”

[race aficionado]

My man Juan.
Pole position - track record,
not a bad day at the office today.

go Juan!!!!
:s mokin:

[Sparky1329]

http://www.versus.com/nw/article/view/82761/?tf=press_center.tpl&UserDef=true

Hmmm. I'll have to arm wrestle the other half to get the remote out of his hands. We only have Versus on the big screen TV to which he's usually glued. :D

[Mark in Oshawa]

To those who don't like the chase, stop watching. You guys complain and whine about it, but you keep watching.

There is a few hard facts you leave out. First off, Carl would have won under the old system but that is of course assuming everyone racing in the final weeks going into the chase would race the same way if there was no chase. FAct is, Jimmie and Chad have been infamous for trying new stuff and playing with setups on the races leading into the chase.

In this years chase, does anyone really believe Tony Stewart would have tolerated his team having a brain cramp in the 4 races leading into the chase if he had to keep that points lead going to the end with no chase? The championship would all but be decided and you guys would tune out and watch NFL.

I don't think any of the drivers in the Chase or out of it will tell you they don't like the chase, even if you were off the record. They all know the drill at the start of the season. The fact it, the hype and coverage of the sport leading into the chase and during the 10 races of it more than counteracts the negatives you guys cite. Listen, I didn't like it at first either, but I do know that in the big picture NASCAR's marketing partners want TV ratings and media attention. To get that in the fall with NFL, College Football, Baseball pennant races, and the start of all the other sports, you have to have something more than a guy 300 points up with 10 races to go.

The chase is a necessary evil.

As for this unfairness of Martin being 400 points down now being in the lead, that lead wont mean squat if he runs like he did all season. By the way, this is no different than a Conference winner in the regular season meeting an eighth seed in the playoffs and having to win. The Patriots lost to the Giants two years ago and the only game they lost was the Super Bowl. The Giants lost 5 or 6 games that year. Was it fair they won the championship? Yup....both sides knew what the drill was, just like Jeff Gordon knows he has to perform better than Jimmie and the rest in the final 10 races.

We have 12 guys who could win a championship, and we wont know who it will be likely until Homestead. No one has ever said that 48 team sucked.....and didn't deserve to win if they really looked long and hard at the fact all the drivers going in against him were given 10 shots at beating him.....

[Roamy]

My man Juan.
Pole position - track record,
not a bad day at the office today.

go Juan!!!!
:s mokin:

Actually when I saw the car at Indy, I felt that Juan could take it to them hard. You can be many of us F1 guys will be watching the next 10 Cup races.

GO Juan !!!

[race aficionado]

Actually when I saw the car at Indy, I felt that Juan could take it to them hard. You can be many of us F1 guys will be watching the next 10 Cup races.

GO Juan !!!

First chase race done with -
and the good news is that we have the Monster back, the JPM of old.

He was awesome.
:s mokin:

[Mark in Oshawa]

JPM is coming...but he is chasing the old man....

Old age and treachery will beat on a few people for a while yet, because Mark Martin is only old in years, he obviously still has it.

JPM tho drove a great run today...and I think with some luck, we may see he, Martin, Johnson and Stewart going for the brass ring....

[F1boat]

Hopefully Mark Martin will finally win it :)

[wedge]

To those who don't like the chase, stop watching. You guys complain and whine about it, but you keep watching.

Errr.... because Sprint Cup is the pinnacle of stock car racing, the best drivers.

[Roamy]

First chase race done with -
and the good news is that we have the Monster back, the JPM of old.

He was awesome.
:s mokin:

Yes what a fun race to watch. And Mark Martin has warned "Watch out for Juan" he could win this!!

[The instant classic]

JPM is one of my faves in nascar
but he won't win the chase if nascar screwed him out of the brickyard win they won't let him be champ
but lets say nascar lets him win the chase it shows the credibility of the chase means nothing and the brickyard means more they work hard to screw JPM out of that win, but not a title
only if nascar didn't play favoritism. i wolud love to see JPM win!!!!

[muggle not]

Mark Martin out snookered JPM at NHS. Experience and talent won. :D

[Sparky1329]

I hope Mark Martin goes home with the big trophy this year.

[willracefan]

To those who don't like the chase, stop watching. You guys complain and whine about it, but you keep watching.

There is a few hard facts you leave out. First off, Carl would have won under the old system but that is of course assuming everyone racing in the final weeks going into the chase would race the same way if there was no chase. FAct is, Jimmie and Chad have been infamous for trying new stuff and playing with setups on the races leading into the chase.

In this years chase, does anyone really believe Tony Stewart would have tolerated his team having a brain cramp in the 4 races leading into the chase if he had to keep that points lead going to the end with no chase? The championship would all but be decided and you guys would tune out and watch NFL.

I don't think any of the drivers in the Chase or out of it will tell you they don't like the chase, even if you were off the record. They all know the drill at the start of the season. The fact it, the hype and coverage of the sport leading into the chase and during the 10 races of it more than counteracts the negatives you guys cite. Listen, I didn't like it at first either, but I do know that in the big picture NASCAR's marketing partners want TV ratings and media attention. To get that in the fall with NFL, College Football, Baseball pennant races, and the start of all the other sports, you have to have something more than a guy 300 points up with 10 races to go.

The chase is a necessary evil.

As for this unfairness of Martin being 400 points down now being in the lead, that lead wont mean squat if he runs like he did all season. By the way, this is no different than a Conference winner in the regular season meeting an eighth seed in the playoffs and having to win. The Patriots lost to the Giants two years ago and the only game they lost was the Super Bowl. The Giants lost 5 or 6 games that year. Was it fair they won the championship? Yup....both sides knew what the drill was, just like Jeff Gordon knows he has to perform better than Jimmie and the rest in the final 10 races.

We have 12 guys who could win a championship, and we wont know who it will be likely until Homestead. No one has ever said that 48 team sucked.....and didn't deserve to win if they really looked long and hard at the fact all the drivers going in against him were given 10 shots at beating him.....


i havent been watching with football back. i just turn here or there. but we still can complain about it.

[Mark in Oshawa]

Errr.... because Sprint Cup is the pinnacle of stock car racing, the best drivers.

Well...the people running NASCAR didn't get your interest by being stupid or wrong. They figured out that this chase would add to the interest of their series. Ratings and press coverage, not to mention a sold out track in New Hampshire says to me that they were right..