NASCAR points sytem

[Guest Turtle]

Seems like from the beginning Nascar said they reward driver's for consistency. That a driver who could consistently run better than the competition would win the championship.

Gordon thrived in this system and went on to win 4 championships. Some fans complained about points racing and said drivers weren't going for the wins. It seemed people thought the system didn't put enough emphasis on winning.

Then in Winston Cups final year as sponsor it finally come to a head. Matt Kenseth won the championship without winning a single race all year long.

As Nextel took over they vowed to not let that happen again. A new chase format was born to give more emphasis to wins. It has since been amended to add even more incentives for winning ie more points to winners.

Last year they crowned a new champ who had a worse avg. finish than the second place team. Good or Bad they accomplished what they set out to do.

Ironically, the same guy was on the short end of both systems.

You see, it was Jeff Gordon in 1996 who had 10 wins. He lost the championship to his teammate Terry Labonte who won 2 races by 37 points. Nine years later in 2007 Jeff Gordan has 6 wins and loses championship to his teammate who had 10 wins by 77 points.

Enough is enough, Sponsors get what they pay for in terms of advertisement. The money they contribute is huge I know, but when you allow them to dictate policy then they go from sponsors to owners. Please stop the changes now for the sake of consistency before the record books become worthless, having to have notes depicting what era the championship was won in.

I don't like the current system because I don't think it puts enough emphasis on what the team did all year. You can go from 400 to 500 point lead to trailing like Gordon last year. But I figure it's like an undefeated football team meeting a wildcard team in the playoffs. You're both there because you earned it, and the undefeated team should be able to prevail.

So to me the current system is not perfect, but would rather keep what we got than to change again the next time NASCAR gets a new sponsor or this one changes it mind.

[Chrud]

Kenseth did win one race in 2003.

I don't like the Chase either. Racing awards consistency for the whole season. The only reason the Chase is around is so CASHCAR can make money on TV. Fans will watch because they like the sport, regardless if their favorite driver has a chance to win the championship or not.

It's probably strange for an American to rather watch IRL or F1 than NASCRAP.

[Guest Turtle]

Yep, I see now won 3rd race of season at Las Vegas . Took points lead 4th week and held for 32 more weeks without winning again.

Yep, things have changed.

Thanks Chrud, I know when ever I'm wrong you'll be there to point it out for me, appreciate the help:D

[AdvantageTimberLou]

If NASCAR would have left well enough alone, Jeff Gordon would be going for this 7th championship this year which would be a tie with Petty and Earnhardt. New format took (2) Championships from Jeff.

A feat I don't think can be matched in today's era due to NASCAR's new way of running or (ruining) the show!!

Dale and Richard will always lead that catorgory, new format makes it too tough.

[Guest Turtle]

I know what you mean. That's why I was talking about records being worthless. You can't just go around changing the standards by which a champion is measured.

For Gordan to have 81 victories in 14 full seasons incredible and to only have 4 championships is a shame.

[Guest Turtle]

I think Gordon went for wins more , earlier on in his career. Thought losing to T. Lebonte taught him to race for points. From his interviews after losing to Johnson I believe he sees he must now go back to original way of racing for wins. I hope so anyway, can't wait for them to get 24 car running well again. He recently had the hardest crash I've ever seen because he was trying to go to the front, hope he continues on this path but with better results.

[BowJoe]

I personally don't see where any driver, in contention for the championship, has done anything but try to finish as best they can and that includes winning races. I mean, to quote the Late Great Dale Earnhardt, "It pays more to win." Trust me when I say that Gordon and everyone else has done everything they could to win every race. Show me one time where somebody has had a chance to win a race and decided they wanted second place more than the victory. You can't. I may not be a Gordon fan but I respect the fact that he has won that many races and 4 championships. I personally liked the old system but if they were going to change it, they should take ten races at the end of the season and let only the top 20 compete and send everybody else packing. That includes past champions as well. Keep it clean and shorten the last 10 races by 100 miles. Talk about making competition fierce. Get guys like Kyle Petty out of their misery along with all the other old farts no longer in contention for anything but a top 35 season finish. Get them out of the way and keep them from messing up races for the competitors that really have a chance to win.

[Guest Turtle]

Never said any one ever threw a race or took second when they obliviously could of won. But there is difference between taking the lead, and TAKING the lead. Johnson, Stewart, Kurt Bush,( you know the guys that have won a championship under the new system,) will move you out of the way if necessary. Gordon (you know most notable driver not to win under new system)would wait for you to leave an opening never putting his car in harms way and thus being more consistent. He's always been the best driver, but I guess that was too boring, now in order to win another championship he must be more aggressive.

Many reason top 20 would not work. Top 35 in points contest for one, but most important to you would have to have another point system for large point swings between 1st and last. Most important to Nascar and teams would be sponsors missing 2 1/2 months of air time.