If You Can’t Beat ‘Em, Join ‘Em
Written by David Lamm · August 30, 2006
You knew it was coming. It was just a matter of time. After sitting back and watching the king of all motorsports, NASCAR, take the heat and then receive praise for it’s Nextel Chase for the Championship, the NHRA has announced a similar format to crown its champions. Monikered suspiciously similar to NASCAR’s playoff system, the Countdown to the Championship is the NHRA’s answer to points races that are already decided prior to coming to Pomona, Calif. in November.
NHRA.com: 2007 NHRA POWERade Countdown to the Championship is announced
It looks like the excitement and drama surrounding the Funny Car championship battle between John Force, Ron Capps and eventual winner, Gary Scelzi heading into the 2005 Auto Club Finals last year pushed this decision to fruition. The fans excitement and the media frenzy surrounding those three drivers was immense. I will admit it. I bought into it and the three audio interviews I conducted while at the track was with all three flopper drivers. To wander through the pits, you would think that Force, Scelzi and Capps were the only three guys racing that weekend. All the newspaper ink and TV time was directed on those drivers and a guy like Tony Schumacher who already wrapped up his championship in Las Vegas two weeks prior couldn’t get an interview to save his life. With that in mind and also the willingness of NASCAR fans to embrace the new playoff format in place for the past two years may have prompted the NHRA’s decision on this.
Many will cry that it is unfair that all but eight competitors in each of the four professional categories are eliminated from potentially winning a championship. You will hear those whining that this is a ‘rich get richer’ type scenario. All I can say is unless you were in the top eight to begin with, you have no shot of coming from behind to win it all. Under the current format, no team has ever come back from outside the top eight in points with six races remaining to win the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series world championship. This is not the NHRA’s way of squashing the hopes and dreams of those competitors that could go on a hot streak at the end and really vie for a championship. If the team is really a championship caliber team, they will already be in the top eight and in a good position to win it outright. Cry baby smaller teams outside the top eight, thanks for playing, we’ll see you next year.
The new championship system could be considered a metaphor for a drag race. The new system ensures that a big lead in the beginning of the year can not carry a race team down the stretch based on early season performances. We all have heard it before in sports. It is not where you start, it is where you finish. And in drag racing it is the first one to the stripe no matter how late you were on the tree or if you smoked the tires by half track. If you can recover and finish strong, you deserve the win.
Also, more kudos go to the NHRA for increasing the championship payouts to a million dollars for Top Fuel and Funny Car combined. Sure the championship payout is still well below what the NASCAR Nextel Cup champion receives but this is a step in the right direction. Although it would have been nice for the NHRA to have come up with this system on its own and been a trailblazer in the world of motorsports for others to follow it is a good change for drag racing. It should make the racing even more dramatic and exciting for the fans and should also bring in potential marketing partners. Hey, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.
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4 Responses to “If You Can’t Beat ‘Em, Join ‘Em”
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My biggest concern is with this type of format, with the places locked in, and the points getting reset, there is no incentive to build a big lead, and it really opens the door for team orders to help load the field with cars from one team.
Say, for example, that going into the final race before locking the top 8, that two force cars are in and one is out .. since the points reset anyway, if the ladder falls right, the two force cars could let the third walk over for 40 extra points, just to get in, since everything resets anyway .. I am not sure I like that, and I am a big Force fan.
This could work wonderfully, or it could be a disaster.. and it makes me wonder what is next, the Flopper of Tomorrow ?
If they are going with a point system like NASCAR can we at least get ESPN to stop pre-empting it for Little League baseball or high school football games? NASCAR would never have the races taped delayed either! Isn’t it about time NHRA got the same type coverage as NASCAR?!!
The “Glendora Hack” is back! This change was arrived at without input from the teams and sponsors. My take is that it won’t be very well received by either.
As for the “cry baby smaller teams”, what if they decide there is no point in showing up for the “Final 6″! NHRA already has difficulty getting a 16 car field in Top Fuel.
There could be a silver lining……8 car fields could be broadcast live more readily; and in half the time!
Why would any of the small teams not want to make the races after Indy? Right now the guy that is in 16th place isn’t running to try and win the championship. The little team has nothing to lose and everything to gain. If they happen to be in the Top 8 they have just as good of a chance as the multi teams. They will still run 16 car fields, just anyone out of the Top 8 won’t win the championship, but they could still win the race.