Is it really a good point system when you go from a 300 point lead to being 20 points behind?

NO! The system sucks. This is what happens when you kill the sole of something in order to have better TV ratings so the advertisers are happy and keep pumping millions into your sport. Usually you want to have a good balance of those two dynamics, but NASCAR has not found it yet. They are hell bent on improving the showbiz side of the sport, while sacrificing the core. I hope they fix it soon, otherwise, they'll be stuck with their "new found" fans who only give a crap about the glitz and glamor of the "event" while the true race fans that build the organization are treated as second class citizens. Come on NASCAR, get back to your roots. Let the racers RACE and the winners WIN!

If this were any other sport, Johnson would not be in the lead. Everyone in the top 12 would have the same points. All previous accomplishes erased. Think of stick and ball championships.

IMHO, forget the no chase system. Gordon would be running away with the chase, just like Edwards, running away with the Busch series.

At lease with the Chase, the last 10 races are as exciting as the first 26.

If it weren't for the fact that each win gets you an extra what, 10 points in the Chase, do you REALLY think that Jeff, Jimmie, Tony, etc. would have been pushing as hard as they have been the past couple of races?

Extra points for Wins was a stroke of genius, and keeps the folks who are "locked into the Chase" from just "making laps". It means that Jeff had to work for the whole season, instead of just coasting on a 200-point lead.

Wins actually mean something, and the driver/team is rewarded for winning. That's how it should be.

I agree its a stupid system. The original chase wasn't something I liked right away but its something I could see the point in and it grew on me. This change is even worse and I see no point to it. Johnson was in 6th for a reason. He had bad races and struggled at times. He didn't earn the right be be 1st because he won several races. A champ should be consistent all year long. I agreed with them adding points for a win but the chase bonus points for a win is dumb.

I hate Johnson and Gordon but Jeffy got screwed. All those top 5s and top 10s for nothing.

I don't like the Chase at all. Of course, being a Gordon fan.....

If there were no Chase, Jeff'd be walking off into the sunset with Championship #6 pretty much in the bag.

He finished '04 with the most actual points, & it'd be really tough to blow a 300+ point lead (AFTER being hit with a 100-point penalty) with only 10 races left. But, again: The Chase was designed to prevent such a runaway.

The Chase is like handing the Bills a Super Bowl Championship after they played only 6 good games that year, all of them in the playoffs.

Just because a guy has won 6 races doesnt mean he should be at the top of the standings. If he had been more consistent he would have been at the top of the standings to begin with. All this chase crap means is that the first 26 races dont matter if you dont win. Wins count more than consistency. Its a joke, then again the Nascar format has been for about 5 years.

I hate the points system. I hate the top 35. I want to see every driver have to qualify for every race. The best 43 cars should be on the track. We get rid of the chase and who ever has the most points is the TRUE champion. They can not only win races, but they can go out and qualify every time. That is a real test.

What a bunch of whiners. Before everyone whined cause someone with one or no wins was near the top and a 5 time winner was 9th or 10th.

The rules are the rules, we all knew (teams and fans) how the chase was going to be set up. That's the way it is, go watch football or the world series if they are better but get your whiney butts out of here cause I'm tired of listening to it.

Yes, I think it sucks too. But I remember when they changed the point system. Also it can bring drivers who have been to the back of the pack all year up in the top 5 or 10 . Doesn't seem fair.

The chase sucks end of story. I listened yesterday while some idiot on tv babbled about how the play-offs of Nascar was about to begin. This isn't the NFL and Nascar fans want the driver who wins the most to be on top. I'm not bashing the NFL playoffs, I happen to enjoy watching them. That doesn't mean I want it in Nascar.