Win and You're In; I'm Sold

dpkimmel2001

dpkimmel2001

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When I heard the new format announced for the Chase this year I really wasn't all that excited about it. I've never been too happy about the whole Chase idea since its inception. While I'm still not sold on that final 'Winner Take All' format I am on the win and you're in idea. I think the racing has been far better because of it. I know my driver is driving different because of it. I hear it on their team radio and see it in the race week after week. Last weekend seeing both Kenseth & Gordon fighting to make the Chase against the 'All In' Penske organization made for a more exciting finish. I think the sense of urgency will only be more evident for some of these teams as they get closer to that second Richmond race. That is a race that I'd like to buy a ticket to this year and maybe years to come.
 
Add to it the fact that you have to stay high in the points to insure participation makes it even more fun to watch.
With 1 win, you can't just rest on your laurels and coast along --- who knows, there may be a ton of winners this year.
 
TexasRaceLady said:
Add to it the fact that you have to stay high in the points to insure participation makes it even more fun to watch.
With 1 win, you can't just rest on your laurels and coast along --- who knows, there may be a ton of winners this year.
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I'm still thinking that we won't see more than a dozen winners by the time the checkered flag is waved @ Richmond.
 
I posted in another thread that drivers still haven't fully adjusted to the new reality. When they do, the gentlemen's agreement will finally be dead. We'll start to see more stock car racing and less of the open wheel style they've been racing the last 10 or 15 years. Door banging, fender bumping and guys being moved for the win will be back. There will be some pissed off drivers, especially in the last couple of regular season races. I wonder how nascar will be able to control cheap-shot payback by drivers who missed the chase. Add in the 100% rule, and how can the tower ask non-chaser to race chase drivers differently than anyone else?

Seems to me there will be fewer and fewer drivers who are good friends when this thing gets going. I love that Matt was willing to block the hell out of everyone to get the win, because soon that will get you moved very quickly. I hate when a blocker wins after doing that for more than a lap. Pisses me off. How does 2nd place even look their team in the eye after letting a driver do that?
 
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Im lovin it! :D For sure... I was an advocate of the whole system from the get go and now I like it even more .. Joeys got nothing to lose now and I bet it will show. Every race has been amazing except for like 100 laps in the middle of the phoenix race I think.. maybe Vegas.. but who cares the finishes are what we remember! And there a couple Ill never forget!
 
One thing I think will become more apparent is that driver with no wins need to be a bit more careful in closing laps when racing with ppl who have wins. Case and point... Brad saw he wasn't going to win Richmond and made sure Kenseth didn't, at the expense of a few positions himself... but those few spots don't matter because he already has a win. I bet they mattered to Kenseth though.
 
FenderBumper said:
I posted in another thread that drivers still haven't fully adjusted to the new reality. When they do, the gentlemen's agreement will finally be dead. We'll start to see more stock car racing and less of the open wheel style they've been racing the last 10 or 15 years. Door banging, fender bumping and guys being moved for the win will be back. There will be some pissed off drivers, especially in the last couple of regular season races. I wonder how nascar will be able to control cheap-shot payback by drivers who missed the chase. Add in the 100% rule, and how can the tower ask non-chaser to race chase drivers differently than anyone else?

Seems to me there will be fewer and fewer drivers who are good friends when this thing gets going. I love that Matt was willing to block the hell out of everyone to get the win, because soon that will get you moved very quickly. I hate when a blocker wins after doing that for more than a lap. Pisses me off. How does 2nd place even look their team in the eye after letting a driver do that?
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Awesome post !! Kenseth and his "extra wide" car will be obsolete
 
SlicedBread22 said:
One thing I think will become more apparent is that driver with no wins need to be a bit more careful in closing laps when racing with ppl who have wins. Case and point... Brad saw he wasn't going to win Richmond and made sure Kenseth didn't, at the expense of a few positions himself... but those few spots don't matter because he already has a win. I bet they mattered to Kenseth though.
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Sometimes I like Brad, Richmond was one of those times
 
SlicedBread22 said:
One thing I think will become more apparent is that driver with no wins need to be a bit more careful in closing laps when racing with ppl who have wins. Case and point... Brad saw he wasn't going to win Richmond and made sure Kenseth didn't, at the expense of a few positions himself... but those few spots don't matter because he already has a win. I bet they mattered to Kenseth though.
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Kenseth lost that race once Logano got inside him, and he knew it. At that point in the race, the 20 and 24 were the slowest cars in that group. Brad really didn't cost Matt a thing, and he was pretty dumb to claim he kept Matt from winning. Now Matt has a bullet in the bag when the time comes. With Matt and Kurt pissed at him, it could be a rough chase for the 2.
 
FenderBumper said:
Kenseth lost that race once Logano got inside him, and he knew it. At that point in the race, the 20 and 24 were the slowest cars in that group. Brad really didn't cost Matt a thing, and he was pretty dumb to claim he kept Matt from winning. Now Matt has a bullet in the bag when the time comes. With Matt and Kurt pissed at him, it could be a rough chase for the 2.
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True... Matt wouldn't have caught Joey.. but Brad helped make less of a race out of it and let Joet get the best run off the corner when he passed them bc Matt wasn't outside anymore.
 
SlicedBread22 said:
True... Matt wouldn't have caught Joey.. but Brad helped make less of a race out of it and let Joet get the best run off the corner when he passed them bc Matt wasn't outside anymore.
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If Joey and Brad continue to work together, Joey could end up with a cup. Brad wanted him at Penske and now he has him :D
 
SlicedBread22 said:
True... Matt wouldn't have caught Joey.. but Brad helped make less of a race out of it and let Joet get the best run off the corner when he passed them bc Matt wasn't outside anymore.
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In the end, Brad cost Matt 2 or 3 spots, but not the win. I still think Gordon hitting Brad is what cost him the win. He had the pass made, and Gordon almost wrecked him.
 
I dont have a problem with the path to the chase, in fact I like what is going on as a result.

I dont think we will have 16 different winners, if you are in top 6 or 7 in points you probably make the chase.

I do disagree over awarding the championship in a one or won and done deal at Homestead. There are just to many variables to put all of the eggs in one basket.
 
Kyle18fan said:
Awesome post !! Kenseth and his "extra wide" car will be obsolete
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You do realize that Kenseth's extra wide car is what caused brad to go off the deepend? And that in return is what made the last few laps the most exciting part of the race and elevated the race rating up to a 9 or 10. If not for that last confrontation between all the lead cars the race would have probably been a 6 or 7 at best. Plus, the number 18 would not have gotten near as good of a finish as he did. You, should send Brad and Kenseth a dozen roses with a thank you note.:D
 
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Kyle18fan said:
Awesome post !! Kenseth and his "extra wide" car will be obsolete
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What about team orders? if an owner has a car in the chase will they order the car not in the chase to "take out" someone...or will they tell the driver to "let" their teammate win?
 
Harvick sits in 20th in points right now and for the sake of argument, let's pretend that he doesn't advance in the standings. Is it fair that he makes The Chase because he has two wins?
 
Greg said:
I dont have a problem with the path to the chase, in fact I like what is going on as a result.

I dont think we will have 16 different winners, if you are in top 6 or 7 in points you probably make the chase.

I do disagree over awarding the championship in a one or won and done deal at Homestead. There are just to many variables to put all of the eggs in one basket.
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Exactly. Goodyear better be damn sure the tire is up to par for that race so we don't have another California incident. I understand that teams had control over those issues to a degree - but if a driver is awarded a championship because he was the only one that didn't blow out or simply survive then that is going to leave a bad taste in my mouth. I just think 3 races is the minimum to determine a champion in the final round. Have a road course, speedway and short-track... so maybe Sonoma, Richmond/Bristol, and Homestead. Just my two cents..
 
DanicaFreak said:
What about team orders? if an owner has a car in the chase will they order the car not in the chase to "take out" someone...or will they tell the driver to "let" their teammate win?
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Questions I cant answer, might be hard to get anyone to answer. Homestead will be epic I bet
 
Nitro Dude said:
You do realize that Kenseth's extra wide car is what caused brad to go off the deepend? And that in return is what made the last few laps the most exciting part of the race and elevated the race rating up to a 9 or 10. If not for that last confrontation between all the lead cars the race would have probably been a 6 or 7 at best. Plus, the number 18 would not have gotten near as good of a finish as he did. You, should send Brad and Kenseth a dozen roses with a thank you note.:D
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I think I will just give Kyle a big thumbs up for some awesome driving we didnt get to see because of Brad and Kenseth :p
 
BobbyFord said:
Harvick sits in 20th in points right now and for the sake of argument, let's pretend that he doesn't advance in the standings. Is it fair that he makes The Chase because he has two wins?
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Nope
 
BobbyFord said:
Major flaw, IMO.
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I cant say I like it very much myself - I guess we will see if the situation actually presents itself. I think Harvick in particular will be top 15 by chase time at least.

May have a good chance of it happening this weekend with a surprise winner that is sitting in the 20's in pts.
 
I love all of it.. the race to the chase... the eliminations... and the one and done finale... the driver and team that wins a championship under this format will have to earn it every week and it will be a hard fought fight. Its still win and ur in when we get to the chase... except they only have 3 races to move on so I expect it to be even better then it is now. Whichever driver can make it through all of that and keep their head on their shoulders to take down the rest in a one race finale with all the pressure of a championship riding on every move every lap will definitely be deserving of the prestige that comes with being crowned a Sprint Cup champion. IMO.
 
FenderBumper said:
I posted in another thread that drivers still haven't fully adjusted to the new reality. When they do, the gentlemen's agreement will finally be dead. We'll start to see more stock car racing and less of the open wheel style they've been racing the last 10 or 15 years. Door banging, fender bumping and guys being moved for the win will be back. There will be some pissed off drivers, especially in the last couple of regular season races. I wonder how nascar will be able to control cheap-shot payback by drivers who missed the chase. Add in the 100% rule, and how can the tower ask non-chaser to race chase drivers differently than anyone else?

Seems to me there will be fewer and fewer drivers who are good friends when this thing gets going. I love that Matt was willing to block the hell out of everyone to get the win, because soon that will get you moved very quickly. I hate when a blocker wins after doing that for more than a lap. Pisses me off. How does 2nd place even look their team in the eye after letting a driver do that?
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Exactly. Don't know why so many drivers let Kenseth win that way last year.
 
Kyle18fan said:
If Joey and Brad continue to work together, Joey could end up with a cup. Brad wanted him at Penske and now he has him :D
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The way Joeys running right now I wouldn't be as surprised as if you would have told me that in February. Especially with it all coming down to a 1.5 mile track. Only Penske has won on those this year so far. Plus Joey made more combined points in what will be the final 3 races before Homestead than anyone in the first races at those tracks(Martinsville, Texas, Phoenix). I like his chances. Right now Im trying not to look that far ahead. You can bet ur ass when we get there I'll be much more vocal about it :D
 
DanicaFreak said:
What about team orders? if an owner has a car in the chase will they order the car not in the chase to "take out" someone...or will they tell the driver to "let" their teammate win?
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Nobody would do that :)
 
SlicedBread22 said:
The way Joeys running right now I wouldn't be as surprised as if you would have told me that in February. Especially with it all coming down to a 1.5 mile track. Only Penske has won on those this year so far. Plus Joey made more combined points in what will be the final 3 races before Homestead than anyone in the first races at those tracks(Martinsville, Texas, Phoenix). I like his chances. Right now Im trying not to look that far ahead. You can bet ur ass when we get there I'll be much more vocal about it :D
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You should be vocal, drive em all crazy :D
 
Greg said:
I do disagree over awarding the championship in a one or won and done deal at Homestead. There are just to many variables to put all of the eggs in one basket.
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BobbyFord said:
Harvick sits in 20th in points right now and for the sake of argument, let's pretend that he doesn't advance in the standings. Is it fair that he makes The Chase because he has two wins?
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These ^

Iike everything else except these effects.

SlicedBread22 said:
Lol I think Chex hates me right now :D Seems lately if Jeff has the best car I can count on Joey passing him for the win lol
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:confused: Lolwut
 
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Nitro Dude said:
You do realize that Kenseth's extra wide car is what caused brad to go off the deepend? And that in return is what made the last few laps the most exciting part of the race and elevated the race rating up to a 9 or 10. If not for that last confrontation between all the lead cars the race would have probably been a 6 or 7 at best. Plus, the number 18 would not have gotten near as good of a finish as he did. You, should send Brad and Kenseth a dozen roses with a thank you note.:D
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This is the beauty of racing. I like that Matt did everything he could to win, but I don't have to like blocking. Confusing? Not really. I love to see a blocking machine get the bumper or a light hook and slide up the track a bit while the faster car goes by.

Brad? He needs to stop talking like a hard-nosed racer and BE a hard nosed racer. I doubt many drivers in the field would have had a problem with Matt being moved in that situation. Brad needed to do it before Joey got there, than race Gordon for the win. He didn't, then threw a tantrum, which I didn't agree with. Great show. I didn't like some of the moves, and non-moves, but I loved the show.

Damn good stuff this year. It's as if nascar went out of business and these guys were racing late models at a local track. Well, almost like that.
 
SlicedBread22 said:
I love all of it.. the race to the chase... the eliminations... and the one and done finale... the driver and team that wins a championship under this format will have to earn it every week and it will be a hard fought fight. Its still win and ur in when we get to the chase... except they only have 3 races to move on so I expect it to be even better then it is now. Whichever driver can make it through all of that and keep their head on their shoulders to take down the rest in a one race finale with all the pressure of a championship riding on every move every lap will definitely be deserving of the prestige that comes with being crowned a Sprint Cup champion. IMO.
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I dont think earning it had anything to do with designing Brian's prepackaged drama, they were already doing that. In fact the chase and the following revisions have effectively cheapened a drivers entire body of work for a given season.
 
I wish they would they of kept the top 20 in points format though. Kurt has that one win and is in, but has been average in other every race.
 
Greg said:
I dont think earning it had anything to do with designing Brian's prepackaged drama, they were already doing that. In fact the chase and the following revisions have effectively cheapened a drivers entire body of work for a given season.
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I never said they didn't earn it before. I just think it will be even harder now. You don't have to agree with me, that's alright. I don't agree with you either.
 
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