The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series' elimination-style Chase format "will be extended with tweaks to the Xfinity and Camping World Truck series this season, one of several innovations addressed" by NASCAR Chair & CEO Brian France yesterday at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Media Tour, according to John Sturbin in a special to the FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM. The Xfinity Series Chase will "feature 12 drivers beginning at Kentucky Speedway on Sept. 24, with eliminations taking place over three rounds in the season’s final seven races." The Truck Series Chase "begins at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sept. 24, featuring a three-round elimination among eight drivers over the final seven events" (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 1/20). In Orlando, George Diaz notes Cup drivers who "frequently cross over to compete in the Xfinity series races, and occasionally in trucks events, will only be allowed to race at the Cup level" during the season-finale weekend in Homestead to "avoid mucking up the competitive balance." That eliminates a "point of contention with a number of fans (and media), which pointed to the success of Kyle Busch as sending mixed signals in the circuit." Busch competed in 15 Xfinity races and "won six last season, more than any other driver." Chris Buescher won the '15 Xfinity title, "winning only twice." Busch said yesterday that he "still expects to compete in 15 to 18 Xfinity races this season" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 1/20). In Virginia, Aaron McFarling writes the announcement is NASCAR's "strongest endorsement yet that the Chase has moved beyond the experimental level." McFarling: "It's one thing to say how effective you think the Chase has been at meeting your objectives -- emphasizing winning, creating excitement. It's another thing to essentially unify all three national series with the same model. NASCAR has now done both" (ROANOKE TIMES, 1/20).
EMBRACING CHANGE: USA TODAY's Jeff Gluck notes the Truck "will run a 20-minute clock at the start of a green-flag run." If the race "goes green for 20 minutes without a caution, the yellow flag will wave and stop the race." It could be "argued NASCAR already does this in an unofficial sense through use of debris cautions, though that's more the stuff of conspiracy theorists than anything NASCAR had admitted to." But this step "goes much further, creating artificial excitement because the race is getting boring." Gluck writes if anything "deserves a red flag, it's the concept of automatic yellows" (USA TODAY, 1/20).
READY TO SHARE THE WEALTH? France said that he is "'very optimistic' that NASCAR and its team owners will finalize a new Sprint Cup team ownership structure to be implemented this season." ESPN.com's Bob Pockrass noted France would "not comment if that would mean 40-driver fields," as opposed to the current 43. The structure is "designed to guarantee a certain amount of revenue to every team during a season, which would help with stability as well as possibly creating interest from investors looking into team ownership" (ESPN.com, 1/19).
