Merits of Winner Take All Approach in NASCAR

After watching the NASCAR All-Star Race at LowesGordon of old. A bad start put him behind Kyle Busch
Motor Speedway, I must admit that there isin the last segment and even Darrell Waltrip thought
something wrong in the way NASCAR handles raceit was over. The original "kid" was having none of it.
results. More often than not, NASCAR races are a bitFor the first time in a while, we saw a drive come
boring as teams and drivers try to rack up points.back on Busch and push him around the track. The
The amazing racing at Lowes shows it doesn't havefinal three way crash with Busch and Newman was
to be this way.just classic NASCAR driving with three drivers not
The current points approach in NASCAR favorsgiving an inch. If you weren't on your feet for that
consistency over winning. There, I said it. Consistencyone, you should go to the morgue because your
is another word for being conservative. Conservativedead.
racing is boring racing. Ah, but what about the Chase?All of this begs the question of how to make the
Well, most drivers know they can't afford one badrest of NASCAR as exciting. Formula One has the
finish so the racing in the chase really isn't thatsame problem. They've decided to go very
aggressive. All and all, this makes for a season thataggressive next year. In 2010, only the winner will
has the occasional wild race, but is mostly a bit onget the spoils in F1. The driver with the most wins
the blah side.over the year will win the championship. Now that is
The All-Star Race shows us what NASCAR could be.going to make for some aggressive driving. Why not
The drivers in the Sprint Cup are criticized for beingdue the same thing in NASCAR?
boring and corporate. Where's the fire? That's whatOkay, I'll take a reality check. NASCAR will never do
so many fans ask. Well, we saw the fire in theit. There are too many uncompetitive cars that need
All-Star race. With points out the windows, it was aa "good run" into the top 20 to keep their
bare knuckle brawl to win the race. The clone, drabsponsorship. I get it. Still, the current set up is a
drivers disappeared. The men that love to drive anddisaster. Why not do away with the abomination
are highly competitive came out. The drove on theknown as the Chase. We all get it that Jimmie
edge and it was some of the best racing I've seen inJohnson has those tracks down pat. Instead, let's
years.create a situation where the winner of the race gains
Two drivers showed some of the biggest gumption25 points or more. You know, make a win actually
out there. The hated one - Kyle Busch - is also clearlyworth something more than a trophy.
the talented one. Has any driver made a formerThe racing we saw at the All-Star event is the racing
champion look more like a lamb? That's exactly whatwe should see every weekend. Get rid of the
Busch did not on one, but on two consecutive startsFontana tracks that produce races that are the
in the last segment. The pass around the outsideequivalent of watching grass grow. Let's stick with
was impressive, but the dive job up the middletracks with exciting races and make the win really
between Jeff Gordon and Kenseth was something toworth going after. Do that and the talk of the
see.demise of NASCAR will be an ancient memory
And then there was Jeff Gordon. He looked like thebefore you know it.