Was the new points system a hit or miss, or did NASCAR land in the middle of a dimmer switch type of deal?
NASCAR’s new points system features a 16 driver playoff. In order to punch your ticket to the Chase, you must either win a race or be the points leader after 26 races.
After Saturday’s race at Richmond International Raceway, Jeff Gordon fans continued to be in disgust as the #24 finished the race in second place for third time this season. Gordon is now the leader in the Points standings with Matt Kenseth sitting five points behind. Both drivers are NASCAR Superstars and are currently having stellar seasons. Both drivers haven’t clinched a playoff spot yet. However, Kurt Busch has one win and is in a solid spot to be in the playoffs. Kurt would sit 26th in last years standings’ format.
Those aren’t the only bizzare happenings in this years format. Defending Champion, Jimmie Johnson is also put of the playoffs as of this week, but Carl Edwards, who didn’t make the playoffs last year, has a playoff spot.
This leads to some questions. Will there be more underdogs in the playoffs like Red Bull Racing’s Brian Vickers was a few seasons ago? What about David Ragan? He won at Daytona last season and he’d be right with the big guns going into the Chase. What will happen at Talladega next weekend? It’s a plate track so anything can happen and it will definitely have a big effect on the standings. This new format just leaves so many questions as to what will work out, especially being the first time the format was used.
All these questions will have to wait to be answered for another few months, but until then let’s just say it will be an exciting season.
For the latest Sports injury news, check out our friends at Sports Injury Alert and for rumors check Sports Rumor Alert.
Thank you for reading. Please take a moment to follow me on twitter – @CFChangs9. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport – and “liking” our Facebook page.
Interested in writing for LWOS? We are looking for enthusiastic, talented writers to join our NASCAR writing team. Visit our “Write for Us” page for very easy details in how you can get started today!
Main Photo:
