CIA Photo Stock Inc.
The calendar says we have 13 Sprint Cup races in the book, with 23 more remaining.
But none of those 23 will be more important than the next 13 races, as the countdown to see which 12 drivers will make the Chase for the Sprint Cup begins with this weekend’s race in Pocono.
Welcome to what has become known as “The Race For The Chase,” the middle section of the season that ultimately will determine the contenders for the sixth annual Chase, which begins in mid-September.
Sixth annual Chase? Yep, time has sure flown since NASCAR Chairman Brian France introduced the radical playoff-style format in 2004 – not coincidentally being announced at the same time as the sport fell under a new corporate umbrella of Nextel, which would eventually be “updated” by Sprint’s involvement when it merged with Nextel.
As many regular readers know, I was not initially a big fan of the Chase format. But the way the first year of the Chase played out – with Kurt Busch winning the 2004 championship on the last lap of the final race of the season – made me a believer in the Chase’s viability.
And even though I’d like to see other format ideas explored if the Chase continues to wane in popularity, I will remain a supporter for the foreseeable future.
Maybe that’s something NASCAR needs right now, to have such a battle in the “Race for the Chase” that will potentially steal a great deal of thunder from the parent Chase format.
So, gentlemen, get ready to start your engines for Sunday’s race because you won’t find a more important, pressure-filled or stressful period of time than what we’re going to see over the next 13 weeks.
Hang on to your seat because it’s going to be a bumpy ride.
Catch you back here on Friday.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 06/04 at 12:30 AM
.jpg)
| 
|