Vote on which Championship format NASCAR should use:

How should the championship be decided?

  • 36 race points season

    Votes: 35 66.0%

  • Current Playoff Format (2014-)

    Votes: 13 24.5%

  • 10 Race Points (2004-2013)

    Votes: 5 9.4%
  • Total voters
    53
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racingfan7

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Simple thread. Mods, if this has been posted too much in the past, please delete.

Just looking for a simple poll that shows numbers.
 
I'd like to try something along the lines of 36 races, but only most wins count for determining a championship. Only if there is a tie do points come into the picture. Points racing sucks.
 
maybe increased the old laps lead bonus to 15 from 5 to incentize most effort with 36 race system
 
I was for the 36 races points system until the current playoff system came about. I liked the reward for consistency with the 36 race points system but the championship was pretty much wrapped up during the last 10 races with two or three drivers that had a chance and they all points raced late in the season. I've noticed that the regular season races seem to be more competitive now with the reward for wins and the playoffs have an element of consistency with the ability to win to advance. I think the current playoff system is more fun to follow (we still get a weekly race regardless of the points system).
 
I'd like it eons better if:

-Regular season point leader is given a bye into Round of 12 & pit stall selection until eliminated. Prevents many of these teams that win early in the year to "test".
-Balanced schedule: Watkins Glen, New Hampshire, Charlotte as Round 1. Talladega, Dover, Kansas as Round 2. Martinsville, Texas, Phoenix as Round 3.

-Pit stall selection to points leaders in NXS & NCWTS.
- Previous years Cup chasers not allowed to run Xfinity & Truck Chase races.
 
What if they used the pre-Chase grid but for the whole season, and extended it to the whole field? If you go into a race with 1 win but the last car in points among those with 1 win, but then you win the race, you move into the 2-win bracket and jump all those guys in the standings. This is risk vs. reward too. It rewards consistency and wins. Do you want to take a risk to win the race and jump all the guys around you in the standings, or do you want to points race just so you can stay ahead of those guys?
 
The current format is a joke. It is definitely part of the reason that ratings and attendance are tanking.
It allows drivers with wins to take a break mid-season. I don't like watching "race cars" take a break. I'd rather watch race cars go fast.
I watch pre-Chase races only and I couldn't care less who gets crowned champion in a silly reality tv sport.
 
WhiningSmoke said:
What if they used the pre-Chase grid but for the whole season, and extended it to the whole field? If you go into a race with 1 win but the last car in points among those with 1 win, but then you win the race, you move into the 2-win bracket and jump all those guys in the standings. This is risk vs. reward too. It rewards consistency and wins. Do you want to take a risk to win the race and jump all the guys around you in the standings, or do you want to points race just so you can stay ahead of those guys?
Click to expand...

This is what I was suggesting above. In this scenario the leaders right now would be Truex, Brad K, Kyle Busch and Harvick with Harvick and Kyle ahead of the other two on points by a considerable margin. However, with 4 more races to go anyone of those 4 plus pretty much any one else with 2 or more wins could leapfrog those top 2 by taking chances and getting wins. In essence going for broke would be the only way to race late in the season and the only way for the leader to truly defend would be to do the same, not points race.
 
I would like to see a 26 race season based on something close to the classic points system. A few tweaks could be made for winning or laps led but this would be the real deal and at the conclusion of race 26 Nascar has its champion.

For the last 10 races Nascar could do whatever it can dream up and have some sort of lottery affair with caution clocks and whatever sillyassed things they can think of and crown a lottery champ as well.
 
36 races with bonus points going to the winner. 20 points to second place, 1 point to 21st through 40th, 40 points to the winner.
 
I'm really not sure what the point of the Chase is. If it's to attract new fans to the sport, it has failed miserably. Ratings and attendance have declined significantly since 2003. So, lets pretend that Nascar is doing it to ensure that the last quarter of the season is as exciting as the rest, and to "emphasize winning" throughout the season. Also, "Game 7 moments" and all that. They have made it clear they want as much drama as possible going into the final race, manufactured or not.

(Side note, I'm pretty sure race fans won't stop watching even if they already have an idea who the champion will be. Even in years like 1994 where Earnhardt had it wrapped up heading into Atlanta, did it turn the fans away? No.) Anyway...

Playoffs in motorsports. OK, whatever, it's here to stay, might as well accept it. But Nascar has proven they have no idea what they are doing with the Chase, hence the numerous format changes. Every couple years they change this or that in an effort to make their idea "better" than it was, because they didn't have the foresight to realize it wasn't as great as they thought it would be. When they didn't get the results they wanted, changes were made. And again. And again. IMO, they still haven't got it right. The final four at Homestead for the championship is a complete farce.

Regardless, I think a lot of the flaws with the Chase would be masked if the schedule were a little different. Like others have stated, a more balanced schedule could go a long way. Imagine if it were something like this:

Bristol
Charlotte
Dover (elimination race)
Watkins Glen
Pocono
Martinsville (elimination race)
Texas
Homestead
Phoenix (elimination race)
Atlanta (for the "championship")

Darlington and Richmond would remain the two races preceding the playoff. Bristol and Homestead would both be run on a Saturday night. The other races would be Sunday afternoons.
 
2 Sweet said:
I'm really not sure what the point of the Chase is. If it's to attract new fans to the sport, it has failed miserably. Ratings and attendance have declined significantly since 2003. So, lets pretend that Nascar is doing it to ensure that the last quarter of the season is as exciting as the rest, and to "emphasize winning" throughout the season. Also, "Game 7 moments" and all that. They have made it clear they want as much drama as possible going into the final race, manufactured or not.

(Side note, I'm pretty sure race fans won't stop watching even if they already have an idea who the champion will be. Even in years like 1994 where Earnhardt had it wrapped up heading into Atlanta, did it turn the fans away? No.) Anyway...

Playoffs in motorsports. OK, whatever, it's here to stay, might as well accept it. But Nascar has proven they have no idea what they are doing with the Chase, hence the numerous format changes. Every couple years they change this or that in an effort to make their idea "better" than it was, because they didn't have the foresight to realize it wasn't as great as they thought it would be. When they didn't get the results they wanted, changes were made. And again. And again. IMO, they still haven't got it right. The final four at Homestead for the championship is a complete farce.

Regardless, I think a lot of the flaws with the Chase would be masked if the schedule were a little different. Like others have stated, a more balanced schedule could go a long way. Imagine if it were something like this:

Bristol
Charlotte
Dover (elimination race)
Watkins Glen
Pocono
Martinsville (elimination race)
Texas
Homestead
Phoenix (elimination race)
Atlanta (for the "championship")

Darlington and Richmond would remain the two races preceding the playoff. Bristol and Homestead would both be run on a Saturday night. The other races would be Sunday afternoons.
Click to expand...

Hey, I know the general consensus is that "plate racing sux!!" "Crapshoot!" "Not real Racing!" but if you want to have a balanced chase schedule that tests the teams on all types of tracks, then you need a plate race in there. Dega during the day or Daytona at night, pick one.
 
Acs said:
Hey, I know the general consensus is that "plate racing sux!!" "Crapshoot!" "Not real Racing!" but if you want to have a balanced chase schedule that tests the teams on all types of tracks, then you need a plate race in there. Dega during the day or Daytona at night, pick one.
Click to expand...

You make a good point. Don't get me wrong, I love plate racing, but it seems a bit too random to have a plate race in the Chase. Although I guess if Talladega was the first race in a round, it wouldn't be a big deal.
 
Glad I'm not the only one who see's how unbalanced the schedule as far as tracks goes (and these ISC & SMI tracks probably don't want to budge), it would be much better for the fans and everyone involved with a few changes.

--- Round of 16 ---
Watkins Glen (Swap this track in with Chicago, road course is much needed.)
New Hampshire (Solid flat track, unique.)
Charlotte (Move this race to the daytime.)
--- Round of 12 --
Talladega (I think a plate race deserves a spot on the schedule, perhaps it would be better suited as the opening race.)
Dover (Good race in Round 2.)
Kansas (Struggled with this one, would rather see this Chase race at California or Michigan if we're talking intermediates.)
--- Round of 8 ---
Martinsville (This track needs to stay put where it is.)
Texas (Track is fine I suppose where it is.)
Phoenix (Unique, 1 mile)
--- Championship 4 ---
Homestead-Miami (I know everyone likes Atlanta being the finale, I think Homestead-Miami puts on great racing, and South Florida weather is usually good in November.)
 
Since I got worked up on the Chase schedules, let's fix NXS while we're at it, which has 5 out of 7 at 1.5 mile tracks. Seriously, NASCAR needs to accept fan council sign-ups!

NXS - Top 16 in Cup not allowed to run
--- Round of 12 ---
Kentucky (It's a standalone race, keep it.)
Charlotte (Saturday night 300 miler, could have other choices, but eh.)
Dover (Good track to close out NXS.)
--- Round of 8 ---
Memphis (For the love of god, can we have Memphis/Gateway/IRP/Martinsville back as standalones? The fall Memphis race would be perfect, ditch Kansas to the spring.)
Texas (I guess another intermediate is necessary.)
Phoenix (Solid flat banked 1 mile)
--- Championship 4 ---
Homestead-Miami (Fine the way it is.)

NCWTS - Top 16 in Cup not allowed to run
--- Round of 8 ---
New Hampshire (Good track to open the Chase at.)
Talladega (This track is a lot better suited being the 2nd race.)
Kansas (Move the Las Vegas race to the Bullring in the spring or summer, this complements Cup weekend.)
--- Round of 6 ---
Martinsville (Great race, I think it should be a 250 lap race instead of 200.)
Texas (Intermediate companion is fine here, a late season trip to Fontana or Sonoma would be more costly, but better suited in my opinion.)
Phoenix (Like Martinsville, I think a 175 laps instead of 150 is necessary in the Chase.)
--- Championship 4 ---
Homestead-Miami (I feel like 200 miles is too short, 250 miles/167 laps would be better as the finale.)
 
Last edited:
I love the 36 race champion - it's the right way. However I can compromise with a 10 race chase it's the one race champ that drives me crazy. At the very least make it a 3-3-4 race format with 12 drivers.
 
Maybe if Jimmie johnson retires a 334 may come. He is a one in a lifetime
 
I don't have a problem with having a Chase but it needs a few tweaks still
 
36 charter teams. 36 points races. They start 'eliminating' whichever charter team has the least points following the second race, and the next lowest gets eliminated with each subsequent race for the next 34 races. The final two teams / drivers who haven't been eliminated enter the final race on equal footing. Highest finisher wins the championship. It's NASCAR Survivor! Or something.

I'm just kidding, that's dumb too. I'm just playing around thinking up bad ideas that would still be a better method of determining a season champion than the current Chase.
 
36-race championship format. Keep the current "1 point per position" format, but give the winner 5 bonus points instead of 3. Also get rid of bonus points for leading laps. The championship, and all races for that matter, should be about where you finish and not how well you perform during the race. Other professional sports teams don't get bonus points for being in the lead at one point or for the majority of the game, so why should NASCAR reward drivers for being in the lead at any point or leading the most laps? All that should matter is the final "score".
 
2 Sweet said:
I'm really not sure what the point of the Chase is. If it's to attract new fans to the sport, it has failed miserably. Ratings and attendance have declined significantly since 2003. So, lets pretend that Nascar is doing it to ensure that the last quarter of the season is as exciting as the rest, and to "emphasize winning" throughout the season. Also, "Game 7 moments" and all that. They have made it clear they want as much drama as possible going into the final race, manufactured or not.

(Side note, I'm pretty sure race fans won't stop watching even if they already have an idea who the champion will be. Even in years like 1994 where Earnhardt had it wrapped up heading into Atlanta, did it turn the fans away? No.) Anyway...

Playoffs in motorsports. OK, whatever, it's here to stay, might as well accept it. But Nascar has proven they have no idea what they are doing with the Chase, hence the numerous format changes. Every couple years they change this or that in an effort to make their idea "better" than it was, because they didn't have the foresight to realize it wasn't as great as they thought it would be. When they didn't get the results they wanted, changes were made. And again. And again. IMO, they still haven't got it right. The final four at Homestead for the championship is a complete farce.

Regardless, I think a lot of the flaws with the Chase would be masked if the schedule were a little different. Like others have stated, a more balanced schedule could go a long way. Imagine if it were something like this:

Bristol
Charlotte
Dover (elimination race)
Watkins Glen
Pocono
Martinsville (elimination race)
Texas
Homestead
Phoenix (elimination race)
Atlanta (for the "championship")

Darlington and Richmond would remain the two races preceding the playoff. Bristol and Homestead would both be run on a Saturday night. The other races would be Sunday afternoons.
Click to expand...

Give me a championship race at Martinsville. Now THAT will be epic.
 
Atlanta
Michigan
Martinsville under the new lights(elimination race)
Phoenix
Texas
Dover(elimination race)
Darlington
Talladega
Bristol night race(elimination race)
Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte for the title

This gives each round a variety of track styles and gets the chase around the country some before bringing the sport back to it's roots for the final round, then making the endurance race the finale to reward the driver who's team can keep it together best for such a long race.
 
This isn't and stick and ball sport. This is a speed competition based on a season long series of races. Along with the speed comes endurance. The fastest and the most durable driver and team should win the Championship. Take Elliotts 85 season. It was phenomenal, he blew away the competition but he wasn't durable, Waltrip was. The Chase is a gimmick pure and simple. It has no place in the season long competition.
 
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