Kevin Harvick won his first NASCAR Sprint Cup championship last night by winning the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, and the conclusion of a revamped Chase for the Sprint Cup "seemed to align perfectly for NASCAR ... which enjoyed a highly competitive and scintillating season finale," according to Nate Ryan of USA TODAY. Harvick said, "This Chase is about the best thing that has happened to the sport over the last decade." Ryan writes it was a "validating night" for NASCAR Chair & CEO Brian France, whose "gamble to overhaul his sport's championship philosophy in search of mimicking the 'Game 7 moments' in other pro sports worked -- at least in its first year." Driver Brad Keselowski said, "Obviously there was a lot on the line (NASCAR) has got to be thrilled to death with that, and I hope our fans are, too" (USA TODAY, 11/17). ESPN.com's John Oreovicz wrote the revised, elimination-style Chase format "produced the thrilling, winner-takes-all finale that NASCAR hoped for." After all the "scrutiny that went into the new elimination-style Chase, everything worked out perfectly in the end for NASCAR" (ESPN.com, 11/16). SPORTING NEWS' Jeff Owens wrote NASCAR "delivered, producing a dramatic showdown among four contenders who laid it all on the line and raced their guts out to win the title." All four championship contenders "raced at the front throughout the race and three of them were in position to win the championship on the final restart with three laps to go." Owens: "You can’t ask for any more drama and excitement than that" (SPORTINGNEWS.com, 11/16).
HITTING THE RESET BUTTON: In Charlotte, Scott Fowler notes this was the "first time NASCAR had ever reset the points so that the final four drivers were dead even with one race to go, and that was the most inspired move of all in these playoffs’ latest incarnation." It "made for a race in which you not only had to keep an eye on the lead, but also on all four drivers in the championship hunt." And they were "almost always near the front." It was "one of the best overall finales in Cup history" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 11/17). In Miami, Greg Cote writes NASCAR "won much-needed validation for its late Chase for the Cup format changes, getting just what it hoped for." A "sense of relief should have been washing over NASCAR on Sunday for how its latest tinkering and tweaking of the Chase format turned out." All four finalists "were jockeying in the top 10 most of the day." NASCAR "got lucky Sunday, the best possible result with a 1-2 finish by two of its four finalists." But it "avoided embarrassment of crowning an overall season champ who hadn't won a single race all year" in Ryan Newman (MIAMI HERALD, 11/17). In Ft. Lauderdale, Dave Hyde writes, "Listen closely. That's a sigh of success coming from NASCAR." This "final script couldn't have delivered more punch unless, perhaps, another fistfight broke out on pit row" (South Florida SUN-SENTINEL, 11/17).
NO BIG CHANGES COMING: France on Friday said that if any changes are going to be made to the Chase for the Sprint Cup in '15, they "will be modest." He said, "I would say very modest, modest to zero." France said the new Chase format has "exceeded what I had hoped for, and it's done precisely what we thought we wanted to do" (
SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 11/14). In Charlotte, Jim Utter writes NASCAR "took a lot of heat for its radical change this season, but the attention on the series finale and the championship was far greater than in recent seasons." But the "true test of the format still lies ahead." Utter: "I hope NASCAR doesn’t change the Chase format. Sunday’s finale whet their appetite, but you can sense many fans are growing tired of the menu changing year after year. Let’s see where this goes for a while" (
CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 11/17).
GETTING TOUGHER ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: SPORTING NEWS' Bob Pockrass reported France "pledged to be tougher on drivers involved in domestic assaults but said NASCAR will wait until at least a charge is filed before it reacts." Stewart-Haas Racing's Kurt Busch is being investigated by Delaware officials "over allegations of domestic assault" against a former girlfriend. He has been allowed to race, but U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) "sent a letter to NASCAR and SHR asking for Busch to be suspended" for Sunday's race. Busch competed and finished 11th. NASCAR previously "has not reacted to domestic abuse allegations against its drivers." But France said that NASCAR "will not turn its head in the future when it comes to domestic violence." France: "What's not lost on us by any stretch is the rightful heightened awareness on domestic abuse and violence, and so you can expect our policies to reflect the understandable awareness that that's not going to be tolerated" (SPORTINGNEWS.com, 11/14).
