TITLE RACE WOULD BE CLOSE UNDER A DIFFERENT POINT SYSTEM

Posted 11/04/09 at 4:00 AM PST by Dale Watermill | Email This |

After Jimmie Johnson's lucky sixth-place finish at Talladega, his lead is basically insurmountable. It does not have to be this way. As I pointed out last week, if NASCAR used a different scoring system, we could be winding up one of the most exciting seasons in Sprint Cup history.

What if, instead of Jimmie Johnson looking like a lock for his fourth straight title, the story line was: With three races to go, Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin all have a shot at keeping Johnson from winning his fourth straight title. Now that would be exciting. Under the Formula 1 scoring system, which only rewards places one through eight, anyone within 30 points of the leader would have a shot at the title.

The ironic part about the current scoring system is that once again it has created a bigger point differential than if NASCAR had just left the original points alone. In the old format, the top three drivers would be 79 points apart. Johnson and Tony Stewart would only be seven points apart. In the current format the top two drivers are almost 200 points apart.

Each year the gap between first and second keeps getting wider going into the last race of the year. We'll probably see that trend continue again this year. The Chase is becoming less competitive. Isn’t it time for a tweak?

(All Left Turns contributor Dale Watermill is the creator of the Watermill Score and the FLOPPER Award and edits the racing statistics blog 36 Races. E-mail him at 36races@gmail.com.)

Tags:
f1
formula one
NASCAR
scoring

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Anonymous (not verified)3 years ago

Whining or not Mr. Johnson is not a real four time Champ. I got no personal issues with him winning at all. Hey the man deserves credit for what he has accomplished and Chad deserves credit for putting a winning car on the track most weekends. However do 10 races really define you as a champion?????? Jury is still out for me on that one.

As for adapting to any points system and running away with the championship.
What about the olds points system? Can somebody do the math to see who would have been champion the past 6 or so years with the old points system?

Anonymous (not verified)4 years ago

It's true, the 48 will adapt to any points system and run away with another title.

Anonymous (not verified)4 years ago

all about the what-ifs. Well, what-if we did have a different points system... I bet the drivers would change their strategy to be more effective in whatever system they were given. Look at the 48 team. They save their best for last.

I, being a 48 fan, hope NASCAR does change the system next year, and Jimmie makes a mockery of that too :) I love hearing the haters whine.

Joe Donatelli (not verified)4 years ago

Right, but that new system the teams adjust to would put a premium on winning, which would, one hopes, produce better racing, and a tighter title chase. The Chase has gotten worse every year, as far as competitiveness goes.


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