Playoff system is here to stay

By DAVID GREEN

"Chase for the Cup III" is all set to go, and for the second year in a row, a major name driver is on the outside looking in. This time, it's the reigning Nextel Cup champ.

The format makes the championship a complete toss-up. Ranking the drivers 1-10 is almost a joke, given the 5-point increments that separate them. As the green flag waves, 10th is only 45 points out of first. But here's a prediction: Kevin Harvick, the first guy to run a complete Busch Series schedule along with a full-time Cup schedule (except for Daytona, of course), will become the first to win both series championships in the same year.

From whence will the stiffest competition likely come? Why, from Kasey Kahne, Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch, if you believe in momentum from recent performances carrying over into the final 10.

Don't care? Still in a snit because you don't like the Chase format? Sorry. It's here and it's not going to go away.

In fact, it's proving to be contagious.

In case you didn't notice, a couple of weeks ago the National Hot Rod Association announced its own version of a Chase-type playoff for the PowerAde Drag Racing Series' professional classes. This one will progressively trim the field, much the way the ladder format eliminates drivers (hence, the term "eliminations") round by round in each NHRA event. It will go into effect next season.

As it did in NASCAR, the new format will alter the way in which championships are decided. The bad news is that achievements during the "regular season" will count for nothing once the playoffs begin. The good news (for those competitors who make the playoffs and for fans who buy into the drama of such a system) is that more competitors will have an opportunity to win the title.

That's consistent with the way most major sports determine their champions nowadays. Long gone are systems that reward season-long excellence, the way Major League Baseball did prior to the advent of divisional playoffs.

And, let's face it. Tony Stewart and the others who missed the cut for this year's Chase field realistically had no chance to win the title under the old format. By this time, Stewart's title defense would have been over already, by all realistic assessments. The Chase just makes it official.

On the bright side, NASCAR has historically short-changed its winners in favor of a system that rewards consistency. Now, it appears that we may have some hope of a modification that will make winning races, both in the "regular season" and in the "playoffs," more important.

The playoff format is the rage, folks. Might as well enjoy it. I plan to do just that.