Several years ago, Matt Kenseth walked away with the Winston Cup title, so they created the Chase to make sure the fans would be on the edge of their seats until the final lap of the last race, wondering who would be the champ.
It might be back to the drawing board for the bosses in Daytona Beach in the wake of what Jimmie Johnson is doing this year. Yesterday in Phoenix, Johnson won his fourth (Chase) race in a row and his 10th of the season. Afterwards, his teammate and closest points rival, Jeff Gordon, said of the championship chase, "it's over."
Bet the sponsors of the Homestead finale next weekend loved that one.
So, if the be-all, end-all goal is to guarantee a nailbiter at Homestead, what is NASCAR to do? Strap weight on the points leader? Pull a plug wire on the #48 just before the start?
Or should they scrap the Chase and go back to making the Nextel Cup championship a season-long test of talent, teamwork, equipment and luck? And if someone kicks everyone else's butt all season... so be it.
