The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season wraps up Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, and the controversy surrounding its new Chase format is "just about exactly what NASCAR wanted when it rolled out its latest tweaks to its playoff," according to Scott Fowler of the CHARLOTTE OBSERVER. Kevin Harvick, one of the four drivers competing for the championship, said, "This new format is the best thing that has happened to our sport in as long as I can remember. It’s simple enough that fans can follow along, and the past nine races have been as good as any I’ve ever been a part of.” Fowler agreed with that sentiment, noting there have been "post-race scuffles" and "wrecks galore." While the new format is "not perfect ... even with the new emphasis on winning," many previous season finales "have often seemed to be Sunday drives with the accelerator set on cruise control." That is not the case this year, as the "new format guarantees drama" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 11/13). In Miami, Gary Long wrote the new format has "exponentially intensified competition and repeatedly brought emotions to the boiling point." It is "undeniable ... that the elimination Chase format appears not to have tightened or squeezed the boundaries but loosened and extended them." Long: "As a consequence, stock car racing expanded on occasion from ESPN onto network newscasts. That’s a bonus" (MIAMI HERALD, 11/12).
ANALYZE THIS: Of the drivers left in the Chase, Joey Logano won five races, while Harvick won four and Denny Hamlin won one. Ryan Newman, the fourth driver still alive, could become the first Cup champion without winning a race during that season (THE DAILY). NASCAR Chair & CEO Brian France yesterday appeared on SiriusXM Radio and said, "In this format you have to be the best all the way through. There is no format that we're going to devise that weights it so much that if you win so many races you're somehow automatically going to be the champion" (CHARLOTTEOBSERVER.com, 11/12). Asked if the new format was fair to the drivers, ESPN's Ricky Craven said, "Each of the 16 drivers knew the circumstances and the format nine races ago, so I have to say it's fair. As far as should we care or not about the format being equitable for all drivers? That will be determined by the paying customer, the fans of our sport." ESPN.com's Brant James added, "It is random and discounts consistency and subtle excellence, and it encourages boorish behavior and absurd spectacle. But if it's not being embraced by the majority of fans and media, its proponents are vocal enough to present the impression that it is being embraced" (ESPN.com, 11/12).
FOUR SQUARE: In Ft. Worth, Drew Davison writes the group of Logano, Harvick, Hamlin and Newman is "by no means ... the 'Final Four' that NASCAR hoped for in its first season under a new Chase format." The format "has worked out well, creating intensity among drivers and producing much-needed drama as the season winds down." But it is "ending with a dud, as each driver left in championship contention isn’t someone who stirs interest" (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 11/13). The AP's Jenna Fryer noted the quartet "lacks star power," but it is a "formidable field and all four drivers have their share of tangled histories and compelling journeys" (AP, 11/12). RACIN' TODAY's Jim Pedley wrote ESPN "can’t be real thrilled with the final four line up," as it "just doesn’t include any true A-listers." There is "simply nobody in the Chase for the Sprint Cup Champions who can inspire the kind of love or hate that turns good events into great spectacles" (RACINTODAY.com, 11/12).
