Too many drivers spoil the Chase

By DAVID GREEN

All anybody can talk about nowadays (except the Kyle Bush versus Brian Vickers spat) is the Chase, and who's going to make it and who's not.

It's a compelling subject, because it is the way NASCAR has decided to determine the Cup Series champion, like it or not. The format probably isn't going to go away, not anytime soon, maybe not ever. So complaining about what is and pondering what might have been or what ought to be is pretty much useless.

But it can be fun, anyway.

For what it's worth, I think the biggest flaw in the Chase concept is that it gives too many drivers a chance to win the championship. That, to me, cheapens it.

In an average season, the title was locked up before the final race or by some easy-enough job such as finishing at least 24th or so. In an good season, there was a legitimate duel between two guys that went down to the wire.

In 1992, six drivers had a mathematical shot at the title in the final race. That's off the charts extraordinary.

Twelve drivers, each with a real chance to win the season championship? Even before the field was expanded, 10 potential champions? No way you can make a case in support of the notion that all 10 or all 12 could possibly be deserving of a championship title.

To determine the most deserving champion, the system ought to narrow the Chase field down to the drivers who have done the things, all year long, that fans remember when each race is over -- the positive things, that is, such as winning, or leading laps, or finishing in the top five, maybe the top 10.

Don't count the negatives, such as SportsCenter highlight crashes or temper tantrums, and don't count the things that traditional points systems have elevated to some level of importance, such as finishing 23rd instead of 25th.

Never, ever, are you going to have as many as 10 drivers in the field. You're not going to have 10 guys win two races apiece during the Race to the Chase.

And that's why we'll never see such a system. NASCAR is all about big numbers.

A Chase for the Cup, with only two or three or at the most six guys in it? Not going to happen.

Television and the masses seem to want a contrived championship system that entertains them, never mind whether it truly recognizes the most deserving driver. NASCAR is giving them what it thinks they want.