I
thought I'd share a story of my afternoon this past Thursday, the day the new
rules format for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase were released.
I'd been at work all day, where, due to being very busy
& hampered by a persnickety firewall, I'd only sparingly followed the
breaking news about the new Chase format. I was aware of a 16-driver field, the
eliminations of contenders after every 3 races, and the reality that it would
now be possible to win 35 previous races yet lose the Championship in a
best-finisher-take-all finale at Homestead.
I was ready to discuss!
Little did I expect to find that opportunity for discussion
in the checkout lane of my local grocery store. Yet, there I was, punching in
my frequent shopper code, when the checker looked up at me and remarked,
"Oh, I see you're a #18 fan." Glancing down I realized that my Kyle
Busch key lanyard really stood out against my bright red sweatshirt and proudly
proclaimed me to be a NASCAR fan.
"Why, yes I AM!" I exclaimed. "Are you?"
"Oh yes," she gushed. "Just today I booked
our hotel rooms for Vegas! Our regular place was already sold out."
"Have you heard about the new Chase format they revealed
today?" I asked.
When she responded in the negative, I gave her a quick,
condensed rundown of the changes, ending with the comment, "Can you
believe you could win all previous 35 races but lose the Championship at Homestead?!!"
Her reply was a simple two word response... Jimmie Johnson!
(She actually seemed to like the idea of a jackpot race for the title.)
Aghast, I had to trot out the one statistic I'd dredged up
while at work... "Actually, Jimmie hasn't won at Homestead. If you look at the past 15 races
there, Roush-Fenway has by far the best record with 7 wins, followed by Joe
Gibbs Racing with 4." (Race Results from Homestead 1999-2013)
I realized I was geeking out on her as her countenance began
to droop so I switched to the age-old NASCAR greeting, "So, who's your
driver?"
"Well, before I changed, it used to be your guy, but
I'm from Wisconsin
so now I'm a fan of ... (quizzical look on her face as she struggled to recall
his name) ... Keith! Keith Kenseth!"
(I promise I neither groaned nor rolled my eyes as I
corrected her.) "Oh, you mean Matt. MATT Kenseth. Well, he & Kyle are
both on the same team so we're good."
I wished Karen (her name was on the printout of my grocery
receipt) a great time at the race in Vegas and promised that if I ever had the
chance I'd try my best to get her an autograph from her driver,
"Keith".
So there you have a completely unbiased response from a
NASCAR fan of the non-obsessive type.
She actually liked the concept.
Me? I'm fine with everything, especially the "Win & You're
In" idea I've been espousing for years, EXCEPT the Game 7 emphasis on the
final race. I positively HATE that! (My
ideas for Chase changes were detailed in my blog post from July 2010 ...
(Chase Change Suggestions, July 2010) As I said, consistency
should still count. While this new format is a move toward what we fans have
asked for, this Super Bowl finale offers too much of a chance for a fluke to
negate a year's worth of effort. That's
not my NASCAR.
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