Chase to Nationwide??

[outlaw6099]

NASCAR officials are considering a possible Chase playoff format for the Nationwide Series next season that would exclude Sprint Cup competitors, sources confirmed Tuesday. Officials discussed the possibility of limiting or eliminating points for a Cup driver who ranks in the top 35 in the Cup standings. NASCAR president Mike Helton met with Nationwide Series team owners, drivers and crew chiefs Monday in Concord, N.C., to discuss cost-containment ideas and possible changes that would allow a Nationwide-only driver to win the championship. If implemented, a Nationwide Series Chase probably would have fewer drivers and fewer races than the Chase for the Sprint Cup, which has 12 drivers for the final 10 events. Full-time Sprint Cup drivers have won the past four Nationwide Series titles and a Cup driver probably will win it again this season. Brad Keselowski holds a commanding lead over Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch, all three of whom are Cup regulars. NASCAR wants to bring more attention to Nationwide Series drivers who don't compete regularly in the Cup series. Officials discussed the possibility of limiting or eliminating points for a Cup driver who ranks in the top 35 in the Cup standings. Cup drivers still could compete in all the Nationwide events, but not compete for the championship. The team owner of those cars would continue to receive owners points, which would allow the car to win the owner's championship, but not the driver championship. This would appease sponsors, which still would win a championship as the primary sponsor on the car.   ---Jayski.com

[EricSturrock]

Saw that on NASCAR Now

I like the idea of a chase alot, but make the rule if you do not attempt every race you are not able to run the chase. So then if a driver does double duty they can go for the championship if they go to every race. I dont like just singling out the Cup guys from the chase, if they attempt every race they deserve to be in it.

[Rowdy]

You never learn, do you Brian?

Also, looks like Buschwhacking isn't going anywhere. Big ol' Mr. Suit & Briefcase wins again.

[outlaw6099]

This years "chase drivers" with their spots in the championship this year:

1. JUSTIN ALLGAIER  (4) 3059
2. STEVE WALLACE (7) 2735
3. TREVOR BAYNE (8 ) 2571
4. BRENDAN GAUGHAN (9) 2487
5. JASON LEFFLER (10) 2450
6. MICHAEL ANNETT (11) 2446
7. BRIAN SCOTT (13) 2418
8. REED SORENSON (14) 2309
9. TONY RAINES (15) 2287
10. MIKE BLISS (16) 2164
11. MIKE WALLACE (17) 2107
12. KENNY WALLACE (18) 2080----nearly 1000 points down from #1

Only 1 win of those drivers (Allgaier), 2 drivers have as few as two top 10s, 2 drivers have no top 10s. 2 drivers have not been in every race (Bliss, Sorenson), only one driver has a fast food-sea food resteraunt as a sponosr.

I think excluding Cup guys is just gonna create more problems. Now you may have the chapionship being fought out by drivers barely running in, or outside of the top 10, and this may also create serious doubt over who the real chapion of the series is.
 

[Rowdy]

Kenny Wallace discussed this last year, and he said it wouldn't work because the Nationwide Series has less than 13 drivers running the full season.

[EricSturrock]

Here is how the NWide chase would look if it started now and you were only allowed in if you were attempted every race

1. Brad Keselowski
2. Carl Edwards
3. Justin Allgaier
4. Paul Menard
5. Steve Wallace
6. Trevor Bayne
7. Brendan Gaughan
8. Jason Leffler
9. Michael Annett
10. Brian Scott
11. Tony Raines
12. Mike Wallace

Not allowed in would be Busch, Harvick, Logano, Sorenson, & Bliss for not running full season.

I think it would be really exciting

[$taton]

I personally love the idea.  I think they should limit it to 6 drivers or so, not the 12 like in Cup.  I still dont like the idea of the cuppers running all the races,  I wish they would limit it to 12 or so and make them split time with up and comers and still run for the owners championship (like Kyle is doing with Brian Ickler in trucks)

[Rowdy]

That seems to be what NASCAR is trying to do. Regardless, it'll probably be Buschwhackers running 26 races and Nationwide drivers the other 9 like always.

Man, if Childress hadn't started that Owner's Championship garbage back in '03...

[OnlyZ]

I hope they don't go to a chase.  I don't hate it as much as I did in 2004, but I'm still a huge fan of the old points system.

[Rowdy]

The Chase actually wasn't bad when they first introduced it. It was when they expanded the field and gave out tons of points for winning that it turned ugly.

[Astat]

Perfect solution, in my opinion, unless they add unnecessary bells and whistles to it. Use the original Chase system that was implemented in the Cup series in '04 (10 drivers, no bonus points), and it should be fine. Here's the problem with the Nationwide series as it is right now:

1. Cup drivers are winning all the races and monopolizing the championship every year, but if you banned/severely limited their participation in the series, sponsor interest would be next to nothing, you'd be looking at embarrassingly short fields most of the time, and attendance/TV ratings would drop drastically from their already low numbers. Ban Cup drivers from Nationwide, and I have 100% confidence that the series would be dead within 3 to 5 years. Anyone who thinks that banning Cup drivers from Nationwide would help the series in any manner, let alone "save" it, is living in a fantasy world where everything still works the way it did in 1995.

2. The Nationwide-only (or mostly-Nationwide) drivers who do have a lot of talent don't have any hopes of competing for the championship because they're either getting beat by Cup guys, having their rides taken by Cup guys, or being forced to start-and-park because the Cup guys are taking all the money.

This solution is totally win-win when taking all of the above into account. The Cup guys can still compete as they please and keep the sponsors and attendance from totally dying off, but the Nationwide-only drivers (and teams, for that matter) have a chance for glory as well. Think of what making the Chase would do for a team like Key Motorsports or Jay Robinson Racing, it would give them a huge boost in exposure, a healthy injection of money thanks to the points fund, and more sponsorship interest. This would allow some of the smaller teams to  build for the future, buy better equipment, and actually be able to compete for race wins against those Cup drivers.

The Nationwide series needs Cup drivers to survive financially. NASCAR also needs the non-Cup drivers to get some attention in the Nationwide series, otherwise the sport's developmental food chain will slow to a trickle.

[dannydugan744]

Read what was posted above by Astat, I could'nt have said it any better. 

[caissefan]

Astat makes very good points.

I remember when I first started watching the nationwide series,guys like Scott Riggs,Jason Keller,etc. stood a chance because only 304 cup guys in Nationwide equipment raced..At daytona when Dale Jr. entered you could pretty much guarantee a win for him,but then races like Bristol would have a David Green,or a Casey Atwood,up front leading because not many cup guys entered..

Although I still enjoy the saturday races more than the sunday races more often than not,thinking back to like 3 years ago and how much better the racing way.

[brikz]

Brian France said that while they're looking at ways to make Cup drivers ineligible for the Nationwide Championship, a Chase is NOT being considered.  He said he wants to differentiate between the top series, and adding a Chase to Nationwide would not accomplish that.

[dannydugan744]

Although I still enjoy the saturday races more than the sunday races more often than not,thinking back to like 3 years ago and how much better the racing way.

I think the Nationwide Series is way better now then it was 3 or 4 years ago.  It got really bad back a few years ago where there was 20-25 cup guys each wknd. Atleast now its 8-12 per wknd.  Personaly I think its a nice mix right now to keep fans, drivers, owners, tracks all happy.