My Thoughts: Why I Will Never Use “Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series”

       

       Following the end of the 2016 NASCAR season, a lot of news came out about Jimmie Johnson’s record tying seventh national series championship, Daniel Suarez’s historic Xfinity Series championship for Latin America, and Johnny Sauter’s long awaited first NASCAR title. In addition to that, details were emerging daily about each team’s line-up for 2017 as the offseason entered full swing. However, one of the most important details for 2017 was yet to be announced: a title sponsor. At the end of 2014, Sprint revealed that the company would not renew its sponsorship deal with NASCAR following the 2016 calendar, creating an extended search for a new Cup Series sponsor. As 2016 ended, though, the long-discussed negotiations were still underway with many fans wondering if a company would ultimately step forward. Finally, on December 1st during Champions Week in Las Vegas, NASCAR officially announced that Monster Energy drink would become the third title sponsor for the series highest division (“NASCAR”). As a longtime fan of NASCAR, I was excited about the Monster Energy news because a title sponsor ensures publicity for the sport and money to keep the series going. However, I was skeptical about Monster Energy as that outlet due to Monster’s sponsorship of many sports entities and the brand’s lack of connection to the history of our sport. Nonetheless, I was supportive of the new title sponsor. Unfortunately, Monday’s announcement of the series logo and name have completely changed my optimism. NASCAR released a brand new premier series logo and NASCAR’s highest division will now be called the “Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series,” which will “represent a new era in NASCAR” (“NASCAR”). As I read the press release for the first time, I was completely disgusted, to say the least. Seeing Monster Energy placed before NASCAR is not only disrespectful for such a historic sport, but it is reflective of an attitude in which NASCAR is viewed lesser than all other major North American sports. Because of that, I will not only abstain from saying Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, but I will always say NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series.

       To most, the difference in word choice appears to be inconsequential and not much of a change. However, I have a much different opinion with specific reasons as to why I place NASCAR before any sponsor, including any future sponsors. This isn’t about Monster Energy, but American commercialism itself. Firstly, placing a sponsor before the sanctioning body’s acronym displays money over history for NASCAR. I will admit NASCAR is a sport with a lot of ties to money in recent years, but this takes it a bit too far. A contract for a title sponsor should never supersede the value and recognition the word “NASCAR” gives to the sport. Winston and Sprint both signed on for more money, but the notoriety of the sport and the power of men like Bill France Sr. kept the title sponsors in line. To Winston and Sprint, sponsorship was more about broadcasting the history and appeal of NASCAR to the world, but Monster Energy is concerned with their brand being put everywhere, which is utterly disrespectful to pioneers and legends who fought hard to make NASCAR reputable in the first place. Secondly, placing Monster Energy in front of NASCAR makes the historic sport appear like all other sports and teams Monster Energy supports. Just think about Monster Energy Supercross. While I will admit dirt bike racing is popular and fans do enjoy watching Supercross travel to stadiums across the country, it isn’t a nationally recognized sporting event. By virtually pushing the American Motorcyclist Association, or AMA, out of the name for the sporting division, Monster Energy killed any chance of making the association nationally known. Even more importantly than that, Monster Energy’s focus on tons of sporting series and events promotes the idea that NASCAR won’t receive a huge boost in audience awareness like Brian France is promising. As NASCAR has been hurt more and more recently with low car counts and a stock brokering charter system centered on money, a sponsor needs to focus attention on the sport and build it back to where more people watch. An audience discussion leads to my third point.

       As a third point, let’s discuss this new audience NASCAR is seeking with a Monster Energy sponsorship. There are many old-school NASCAR fans from the 1980s, 1990s, and early who were turned off by the corporate landscape of the Sprint days in NASCAR, but Monster Energy adds another wrinkle to that. As I see it, the energy drink appeal is focused on teenagers like myself and even young adult fans reaching their late twenties. While this is important for building the future of the sport, it is important not to push away older fans. NASCAR has thoroughly chased away old-school fans while at the same time failing to attract young fans due to not understanding the new generation of social media and technology. Ultimately, no change is going to solve all issues NASCAR faces, but giving Monster Energy the opportunity to chase away old-school fans and struggle to bring in new fans doesn’t help at all. Finally, Monster Energy tosses around their brand like it is so iconic as I mentioned earlier, but they aren’t willing to pay. Per SPORTSBUSINESS DAILY, the Monster Energy deal is “a two-year deal with a two-year option worth about $20M annually in rights” (Sources). For those not knowledgeable of Sprint’s sponsorship investment, it was upwards of $75 million and the deal was for ten years beginning in 2004 before it was picked up for three more years following the conclusion of the 2013 season. In case you aren’t a math expert, that is a difference of $55 million when the new deal should be worth more than the old one. To me, this indicates that even though Monster Energy has a lot of rhetoric about building up the sport and adding a new generation of fans, the money is not there at all and the length of the contract isn’t either. For sports, an extended period is needed to bring continued awareness Honestly, it appears as if Monster Energy sees the sponsorship of NASCAR’s PREMIER series as a portfolio addition for future sponsorship while the company doesn’t have to do much. I would hope not, but the lack of a long-term investment or financial support seems unsure. As Monster Energy looks to attract a new audience without spending much money or effort in the sport I love, the brand proves that using Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series will be something I never do.

       I am a lifelong NASCAR fan and there are only two things that could completely end my fandom: driverless cars and Darlington’s only NASCAR date given away to some track built in the 1990s. I say this because I remain optimistic about the future of our sport even with Monster Energy’s belief that their brand is more recognizable and important than NASCAR, which is ridiculous. I truly support Monster Energy as NASCAR’s premier series sponsor because I believe the brand will use some unorthodox advertising tools to attract more fans to the sport and Monster will provide the sport new avenues. While some fans will always be chased away, which isn’t NASCAR’s fault, I hope double the fans are added for every one lost. Still, though, I will never use Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in any of my conversations about the sport’s highest series or in articles. In fact, nothing can change this belief in my mind. NASCAR needs to be put first because the sanctioning body is iconic and without the formation of NASCAR, none of this would be possible. Because of that, I will always put NASCAR first due to its history, recognition, and positive future. In 2017, I am positive that Monster Energy will make a positive impact on NASCAR and the NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series will be bigger, bolder, and faster in its first season with the brand-new title sponsor.  

Works Cited

“Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Logo.” NASCAR Inc.,           19 Nov. 2016, www.nascar.com/en_us/news-                               media/articles/2016/12/19/monster-energy-nascar-cup-               series-unveiled-premier-series-name.html.

“NASCAR Reveals New Brand Identity, Premier Series Name           and Logo.” NASCAR.com, 19 Dec. 2016,                                   www.nascar.com/en_us/news-                                                       media/articles/2016/12/19/nascar-reveals-brand-identity-             premier-series-name-logo.html. 

“Sources: Monster Energy's NASCAR Deal a Two-Year Pact             with Two-Year Option.” SPORTSBUSINESS DAILY, 12           Dec. 2016, www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Daily/Issues

        /2016/12/12/Marketing-and-Sponsorship/Monster.aspx.

My Thoughts: Matt Kenseth vs. Joey Logano at Martinsville

         It's been a while since I've wrote about NASCAR on my website. It has been hard to find the time to write about the sport of NASCAR that I love and I have missed the opportunity to write about a good many things this year. Today, though, I'm going to change that. I hope to take advantage of writing some more to end this year and throughout the 2016 season. The reason I'm writing today is because of what happened in Martinsville, Virginia Sunday afternoon. So far, we have been through two rounds of the Chase: the Challenger Round and the Contender Round. The Challenger Round was filled with action as Denny Hamlin went on to win and advance at Chicagoland after spinning early in the race. At New Hampshire, Matt Kenseth punched his ticket to the Contender Round with a victory. More on Kenseth here shortly. In the final race of the Challenger Round at Dover, Kevin Harvick, who blew a tire and crashed at Chicagoland after contact with Jimmie Johnson, won a must win race to make his way into the Contender Round and keep his drive for a second consecutive championship alive. The Contender Round had a single winner in three races: Joey Logano. Logano won at Charlotte, then at Kansas, and then he closed out the round sweep at the massive Talladega Superspeedway. It wasn't all easy for him, though. At Kansas, Logano was running second behind the driver who had led the most laps in the race, Kenseth, with five laps to go. Kenseth desperately tried to hold off the Charlotte winner with a few blocks, but Logano was having none of it. He bumped the leader with five laps to go and the driver of the Dollar General Toyota found himself spinning and without a win in order to move to the Eliminator Round with a deep hole heading to Talladega. Let's just say Kenseth was not a happy man. At Talladega the next week, Logano battled hard all day with the present day King of Talladega, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Earnhardt absolutely dominated at Talladega, but on the only green-white-checker restart because of NASCAR's rule change before the race which stated the race would only have one of those restarts instead of the usual three, Kevin Harvick caused a questionable wreck and ended the race just as it restarted. At the time, Logano was barely ahead of Earnhardt and the 2015 Daytona 500 winner was in victory lane for the third straight time and the 2014 Daytona 500 winner did not move on to the next round of the Chase. That brought the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series to the Martinsville Speedway for the first round of the Eliminator Round where eight drivers were now left to battle for a spot in the Final 4 to battle for the championship at Homestead. What happened at Martinsville Sunday was something we have come to expect from the tight half mile track, but no one could have predicted how the wrecking and crashing and payback would affect the future of the sport.

        Joey Logano came into the Eliminator Round with three straight wins and he quickly proved he would be a formidable force by taking the pole for the Goody's Headache Relief Shot 500 at the famed Martinsville Speedway. He was the early and often leader of the race. Drivers like Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski, Kurt Busch, and others all made their way to the lead before the halfway point of the race, but Logano still continued to pass these drivers and lead the race at different points. Around lap 400, Logano was still a big figure in the race as he continued to work with his teammate, Brad Keselowski, to keep the two Team Penske drivers at the top of the running order. On lap 436, all of that quickly took a turn. On the restart following the fourteenth caution, Logano chose the outside line while his teammate lined up to his inside. Matt Kenseth, who had stayed pretty quiet all day, lined up behind Logano for the restart. As soon as the green flag dropped, Logano crossed over in front of his teammate heading into turn 1. Keselowski allowed him in and the two looked to run away, but Kenseth had other plans. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver slid his car to the outside of Keselowski and the two began to battle. Coming off turn two, Keselowski slid up into Kenseth and the two beat and banged exiting the turn when Keselowski had enough and spun Kenseth around. The spinning Dollar General Toyota spun down the track and Kurt Busch slammed into his nose, ending both driver's chances for a win. Keselowski did not get away without damage either as he had a flat tire and some suspension damage to his Ford. With that, three Chase drivers were involved in an accident, but the worst was yet to come for one.

        In all of that, Joey Logano was able to drive away and not be a part of the big accident. He was pleased with that one the radio and he prepared for the restart once again. On this restart, he checked out on Jeff Gordon and looked to pull away for the win, depending on if a caution did not wave. About ten laps after the restart, Logano saw something in front of him that he did not want to see: Matt Kenseth. Kenseth's crew had managed to fix his damaged race car and he was back on track running a few laps to gain points, but still nine laps down. The tension was obvious for most of the field as the leader approached his recently made enemy. Going to complete lap 454, Logano passed Kenseth to the outside as the injured Toyota ran way slower compared to the blazing fast Ford. Kenseth, though, gained a lot of speed very quickly. Kenseth started bumping Logano heading into turn 1 and the Toyota driver did not even mash the brakes as he pushed the leader straight towards the wall. Both drivers plowed into the wall hard and both came to a stop on the race track, cars steaming and tempers steaming even more. To sum it up, Kenseth, the lapped driver, had just wrecked Logano, the leader of the race and competitor in the championship battle. The crowd roared at Martinsville as both drivers stayed in their cars in order to follow NASCAR rules about leaving crashed vehicles. Once the ambulances arrived, both drivers hopped out of their cars and entered the ambulances without a fight or any altercation. Still, Logano was mad and it was obvious based on his attitude outside of the car and on the radio. He had not only been cost a win, but he had been cost a chance at insuring he moved on to the final four at Hometead. This left both drivers certainly out of the race and Jeff Gordon inherited the lead. Gordon walked away with his first win of the season in his last season, but the story I want to talk about today is between Logano and Kenseth. Before I give my opinion, I want to discuss what I think both Logano and Kenseth were thinking during the race and previously to. First, we will start off with Logano.

        To Joey Logano, everything that happened at Kansas was fair and in the past. When he bumped Kenseth with five laps to go at Kansas, it was strictly fair. Kenseth had blocked him on several occasions while leading, even putting him in the wall at one point. Logano got frustrated, bumped him with five laps to go, and took his second win of the Contender Round. It was something pretty much everybody had done before. Dale Earnhardt Sr. had done it plenty of times to “rattle his cage” and it was just racing. Because of that, Logano moved on and came into the Eliminator Round having won three straight races and it looked like Martinsville would be his fourth. He qualified on the pole and he led 207 laps when lap 455 came around. Now, at this position, he knew Kenseth had been wrecked. He knew his teammate had been taken out in it, but that still left his major road block and enemy out of the race. He felt safe. He felt like now he had no competition for this race and he would be moving on to race for the championship at Homestead. Then, he saw Kenseth out his front windshield. I believe the panic set in for Logano. He knew this was the place for a little payback. Martinsville is the slowest track on the circuit and Kenseth could bump him, wreck him, and pretty much do anything he wanted without a real problem. But Kenseth was nine laps down and there was just no way he would wreck the leader and mess up the championship. After he convinced himself of this fact, he went to Kenseth's outside and made the pass down the frontstretch. The pass was no big deal and he could see the driver of the Toyota enter his rear-view mirror. Then, he felt a little contact. Then, he felt a hard shove in the corner. Finally, he felt his race dominating car slam into the wall and he rolled it to the bottom of the track. Logano was livid. Not only had something that was past and gone completely hurt him, but he had missed out on winning a race and insuring he would be racing for the championship at Homestead. He handled it very well. He climbed out of his car, entered the ambulance, went to the infield care center, handled the media interviews about the incident, and returned to his car, hoping to run some more laps. But, I can promise you with certain fact, he put that incident in the memory bank and Matt Kenseth will certainly feel retribution for his actions sooner rather than later. Now, what was Kenseth's mindset after Kansas and then at Martinsville?

       Kenseth started his narrative livid. He was leading the race at Kansas with five laps to go. This was his chance. He had a terrible Charlotte and finished next to last with only a win saving his Chase at either Kansas or Talladega. If he won this race, he knew he would be moving onto the Eliminator Round and would surely be battling for the championship after surviving that round. He did everything he could to keep that lead in the last few laps. He blocked Joey Logano fairly and held onto his lead without wrecking him. Plus, there was no reason for Logano to risk a car because he had won the previous week at Charlotte and was guaranteed to move onto the Eliminator Round. Logano wouldn't push it, would he? Kenseth felt like he wouldn't, but then he felt a bump going into turn 1. Then, he felt his car spin around. Then, he felt his race slip away. He didn't hit anything, but he needed fresh rubber and he would have to start at the back of the lead lap following the incident with only a couple laps to catch back up and win. Kenseth was livid. Logano had just wrecked him while he was leading for no reason and now, he was in a huge hold heading to Talladega, where everything was unpredictable. He finished fourteenth, but he now needed a win at Talladega to move on to the Eliminator Round and it was quite hard. In the end, he didn't win at Talladega and his championship was finished. It was all Logano's fault. This made him even more upset, but here came his chance: Martinsville. He had been running better there in the past few years and he could race Logano for position and show his displeasure. Throughout the race, Kenseth had been doing that. He was right near the front racing around Logano and just waiting for his chance. The restart after the fourteenth caution looked perfect. He got to Brad Keselowski's outside with only one driver in front of him: Logano. He saw his chance coming for some nice payback. He would be right there to battle Logano and, possibly, wreck him if he was afforded the opportunity. Then, he felt a bump. And then another bump. Finally, for the second time in three weeks, he felt himself spinning and getting slammed by another driver. This wreck was caused by Brad Keselowski this time, Logano's teammate. Now, he went from battling for second to having a very damaged race car. He was again livid. Logano caused this. Logano and Keselowski had been rigging the restarts all day and they had finally wrecked the guy they wanted to. Finally, Kenseth had enough. His crew got the car fixed and he had only one goal by returning to the track: find Logano and deal with him. He was very slow riding around the track and then he looked up in his mirror and saw his enemy coming behind. He finally had his chance. Logano passed him on his outside heading down the frontstretch to complete lap 454 and he made the most of his opportunity. Kenseth bumped him heading into turn 1, didn't touch the brakes, and plowed Logano straight into the wall, destroying both of their cars. He didn't care. A destroyed car or not, he had accomplished his goal: wreck Logano. Kenseth climbed from his car guilty for wrecking the leader, but so happy for unleashing payback and gaining a legion of cheering fans. In his mind, Kenseth had done the right thing and proved not to mess with him once again, which was what he wanted to do no matter what. After looking at both sides, I want to quickly discuss my side and conclude today's entry.

         I believe Kenseth did the right thing in getting payback. What happened at Kansas on Logano's part was uncalled for. Matt Kenseth led that race fair and square and Logano never made a move to pass him. He just dumped the leader of the race and drove away like nothing happened. I truly think Logano was scared to see Kenseth win because he knew that the experienced veteran would be a challenge for the championship. So he just drove into turn 1 at Kansas, bumped Kenseth, and drove away for the win. To me, that is not how we should be racing. We should battle side by side and if the other guy is faster, try as hard as you can to work his inside or outside and make the pass. Drivers have to prove that they should win the race and they should do it fairly. Still, Kenseth picked the wrong time to get paybck. If the two were on the same lap and battling for position, he could easily bump him and it would be no big deal. Instead, he took the opportunity when Logano was leading and he was nine laps down with crash damage. No matter how angry you are, you can't wreck the leader if you are laps down. That isn't fair and isn't one of those racing deals. To conclude, I agree with Kenseth giving payback, but not the time he gave the payback. Today, though, NASCAR handed down a bogus penalty for Kenseth. I knew he would get one. I figured it would be the same thing as Jeff Gordon got for wrecking championship contender, Clint Bowyer, in 2012 at Phoenix, which was a $100,000 fine and a loss of 25 points. But, instead, NASCAR suspended Kenseth two races. That is complete and utter nonsense, really. Crazier and worse things have happened like Carl Edwards wrecking Bard Keselowski at Atlanta in 2010 where Keselowski almost flew into the fence and landed on the other side with the fans. Plus, Kyle Busch wrecked Ron Hornaday Jr. under a caution in the NCWTS race at Texas in 2011 and only received a one race suspension. Busch risked the lives of track workers going full speed under caution and he didn't get anything near what Kenseth got. NASCAR really needs to work on setting fair precedents, in my opinion. In reality, the only reason Gordon didn't get more of a punishment in 2012 is because of the name above his door and the amount of exposure he brings to the sport, but that is a discussion for another day. I hope you guys enjoyed this new idea I'm trying. I'm going to try and continue this for the race weekends to end 2015 and continue it in 2016. I'll pick a topic to discuss from the previos race weekend and you guys can expect to see it on either Monday or Tuesday, depending on time. I also have a couple other ideas floating around so watch out for those. Thanks for reading and you guys will hear from me again soon.




Credits:
-Videos of Brad Keselowski/Matt Kenseth Restart Crash and Matt Kenseth/Joey Logano Crash
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6K_Wjexick
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qn5uBJXKtm0
-Race Statistics:
http://racing-reference.info/race/2015_Goodys_Headache_Relief_Shot_500/W
-Image:
http://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/1ed8c84a15c8b805c0083e6e818fdb8e58e9ac68/c=170-0-3829-2751&r=x513&c=680x510/local/-/media/2015/11/01/USATODAY/USATODAY/635820022867169351-kenseth-logano.jpg

My Thoughts: NASCAR Makes Huge Changes to Chase Format

         Yes, it is twenty three days until the 2014 Daytona 500, but it is not time for my thoughts for this offseason week. Yesterday marked a landmark moment in the history of NASCAR. Brian France and other notable leaders in NASCAR announced huge changes to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Chase system, which has been in effect since 2004. The changes include moving to sixteen championship eligible drivers, more emphasis on winning, the addition of eliminations after every three races in the Chase, and a final race battle between the four drivers left out of the sixteen. The driver who finishes highest in this four person battle at Homestead will be the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion along with other years after this one. Before I jump into my opinions on this move, I want to give you guys a detailed overview of what this move entails throughout the season.

        After the final regular season race of the year at Richmond, the Chase order will be set like this. The 15 drivers with the most wins, who are in the top 30 in points and have qualified for every race, will make up the Chase field. If the leader of the points after the final regular season race does not have a win, he will be the sixteenth driver in the Chase lineup. If the points leader does have a win, he will go in order based on his wins and the next driver with a win in line will make the Chase field or, if no other drivers have wins, the highest driver in points without a win who isn't in the Chase will be the sixteenth driver. If less than sixteen drivers win during the regular season, the rest of the Chase lineup will be based on points positions before the Chase reset with drivers higher up without wins getting the extra spots. If more than sixteen drivers win a race, tiebreakers will be used starting with most wins and then, if the tie is not broken, points position before the Chase reset will be used. Chase races number 27 through 29 will be known as the Challenger Round and the field will be whittled down to twelve drivers after race 29 at Dover. Chase races number 30 through 32 will be known as the Contender Round and eight drivers will remain after race 32 at Talladega. Chase races number 33 through 35 will be known as the Eliminator Round and four drivers will remain after race 35 at Phoenix. Race number 36 at Homestead will be a battle between these four drivers and the driver who finishes highest in the race will be the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion. In case you don't understand or don't want to read through this, this is what the Chase field would have looked like in 2013 had this format been used.

2013 Chase Reset After Richmond (Using New Format; Win Total Does NOT Include Chase Wins)

1. Matt Kenseth (5 Wins)

2. Jimmie Johnson (4 Wins)

3. Kyle Busch (4 Wins)

4. Carl Edwards (2 Wins)

5. Kevin Harvick (2 Wins)

6. Kasey Kahne (2 Wins)*

7. Joey Logano (1 Win)

8. Greg Biffle (1 Win)

9. Ryan Newman (1 Win)*

10. Martin Truex Jr. (1 Win)

11. Tony Stewart (1 Win; Assuming He Wasn't Injured)#

12. David Ragan (1 Win)

13. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No Wins; Highest in Points Without Win)

14. Clint Bowyer (No Wins; Next Highest in Points Without Win)

15. Kurt Busch (No Wins; Next Highest in Points Without Win)

16. Jeff Gordon (No Wins; Next Highest in Points Without Win)

(*: In new system, Kahne and Newman would get bonus points for race wins unlike previous system where wild card drivers couldn't.)

(#: Had Stewart not been able to compete in the Chase, Jamie McMurray would have been the sixteenth driver to make the Chase.)

         Before I jump into my thoughts on this issue, I want to point out a couple of things based on this Chase lineup. For one, all thirteen drivers who were apart of the 2013 Chase are on there. The only exceptions are Martin Truex Jr., who originally made it into the Chase, David Ragan, and Tony Stewart, who might have made the Chase if he hadn't been injured. I just find it odd that pretty much the same drivers were in the Chase using the old format as well as the new format. The second and final thing is something that I feel makes Brian France, who made the Chase move, seem like a huge hypocrite. His whole basis for this move was to make winning the most important part of the season, but here is the catch. Had this format been used in 2013 for the Chase, Dale Earnhardt Jr. would have won the championship. Yes, Junior Nation, you can use that as reason to have hope for the future. The thing about that is he did not win a single race in 2013 while the actual champion, Jimmie Johnson, won six races. Those are just some odd things I want to point out about this new format right before we jump into my personal thoughts on this move.

         I will start off by wanting to know exactly what drug Brian France is using. Whatever it is, it should never make its way into the public scene. I mean, this is the dumbest idea I have, honestly, ever heard. I do have one thing I like about the move. That is the addition of four more drivers to the Chase. I have always wanted more drivers in the Chase and that is a very good part of this for me. But everything else is just absolutely appalling. First, we will start off with this “winning is the most important thing” concept. If you have ever read anything of mine about NASCAR, I believe in consistency. I believe the last true champion we have had in NASCAR was Matt Kenseth in 2003 because he won the championship not only with a win, but also consistency throughout the year. I just don't believe this Chase format allows for a driver to be a champion because it is completely based on a ten race stretch instead of an entire season. Consistency should be the most important thing for NASCAR. Second, I do not like these eliminations. Yes, drivers are typically eliminated from Chase contention as the Chase progresses, but this just causes too much media scrutiny. I mean, the drivers who get eliminated will almost surely be asked the next week about being eliminated from Chase contention. If I am a driver, I don't want to answer questions about that. I want to talk about the race or anything else, honestly. Without the eliminations, it doesn't seem to come up as much because people didn't find out about about the eliminations as easily. Finally, I hate with a supreme passion this fight to the death at Homestead in the final race for the championship. You have four drivers go in there and the one who finishes the best out of this group wins the championship. Why did we even have the other thirty five races if we decide the champion in this one race? There is absolutely no reason to have the first thirty five races if you are just going to see who can finish the best in the final race. I mean, I can't even begin to describe the junk storm that would happen if the non-championship drivers raced these four championship drivers hard in the final race. Every single person in the media would just blast this driver along with NASCAR's sanctioning body. I mean, Brian France is trying to create excitement, but that final race will be like four kids running around the neighborhood with bubble wrap on and nobody can touch them or even look at them. It just doesn't make sense to me at all.

         Now, I ranted a good bit in this critical article of the new NASCAR Chase format, but I will never stop watching the sport. I mean, you could have four cars in every race and I would still watch it because I have so much passion for this sport. Don't get me wrong. I know Brian France is making this move because he wants to attract newer viewers to the sport, but I would have to gear every move I make to the fans the sport already has. I guess that is the opinion of a lifelong NASCAR fan, but it is just how I feel. I thank you guys for reading through this short edition of my thoughts. If you have your own opinions of the new Chase format or about anything else mentioned in this article, please let me know in the comments down below. I know I have made a ton of these same promises, but the 2013 NASCAR Season Recap will be up tomorrow. That is an absolute fact. I have two final paragraphs to do along with a little proofreading and it will be up sometime during the day. My thoughts for this offseason week will be up on Sunday at its usual time. I hope you guys enjoyed this reading and until we meet again.




Credits:
-Full Story:
http://www.nascar.com/en_us/news-media/articles/2014/1/30/chase-for-the-nascar-sprint-cup-championship-format-changes.html
-Full List of Questions and Answers About the Chase Format:
http://www.nascar.com/en_us/news-media/articles/2014/1/30/chase-for-the-nascar-sprint-cup-facts-faq-new-format.html
-Chase Bracket:
http://static.nascar.com/content/dam/nascar/download%20schedule/2014/Chase%20Grid%20Horizontal.pdf/_jcr_content/renditions/original
-Image:
http://static.nascar.com/content/dam/nascar/articles/2014/1/30/main/Chase-Grid-Horizontal-main.jpg/jcr:content/renditions/original