He Said, She Said: Chase Racing, Dale Jr. and Roush Could Lose Another Championship   September 27, 2007 Everett Mugg and Debbi Willis - SCR   Do Drivers Not in the Chase Really Race?   He Said: I have always wondered if the 31 other drivers really race the contenders for a Championship but I wonder even more in this “Chase for the Championship” format. Before the Chase it was only two or three drivers that one had to worry about. Now there are not only 12 drivers in the chase but 4 or 5 at the back of the field trying to lock in to the top 35 for a guaranteed starting position in 2008. The top 12 drivers (10 in the previous years of the new format) seem to expect the other drivers to pull over and park when they are challenged for position and it looks to me like that is exactly what happens more often than not. If I want to watch 12 cars run a race I will watch IRL.   Tony Stewart has seen the Chase from the inside and the outside looking in, and when asked how tough it was to race around the top-12 drivers competing for the championship Stewart said, “Last year was the first time, and hopefully last time, we’re in that situation – being on the outside of the Chase. It’s very uncomfortable to race around the guys who are running for a championship. You’re so scared to make a mistake around them and cause them a problem. You can’t race like you would normally race. It’s a very frustrating situation. There seems to be a lot less give-and-take than normal and that makes it even more frustrating. It is what it is. I think the idea of having a Chase is an awesome deal, but having been on both sides of it, I think it’s a very weird deal. It makes it very uncomfortable for the other 31 guys that have to race around those 12 guys that are on the race track racing for a championship. It’s a lot more fun being in the top-12 than it is being on the outside of the top-12 and trying to race for wins and having to worry about those guys at the same time.”   To follow that statement up Stewart was also asked if he changed the way he raced guys who were competing for the championship last year?   “When you were up there racing with those guys, it made you timid and it made you think, ‘Well, should I just let them go, or should I just go ahead and race my race,” Stewart said when asked if he changed the way he raced guys competing for the championship in 2006? “In the first two years of the Chase, I know the consideration I got from guys and how much I appreciated it. Instead of just saying you want to race your own race, you say maybe you should give this guy an extra break here and there. It made it frustrating to race because you weren’t racing your own race that way. You were racing a race in a race, so to speak.   “You just have to show the top-12 respect. You still want to win races, but at the same time, you still have to be mindful that there are 12 guys racing for a series championship.  You try to race hard, but at the same time, you have to be respectful and give them the room they deserve.”   So what is the real deal as it were? Do drivers pull over for Chasers or just for selected chasers? Will Greg Biffle move out of the way for Roush Fenway Racing teammate Carl Edwards and not race him for a win and then race the heck out of Jimmie Johnson or Stewart? Will Robby Gordon race everyone and when he wrecks someone in the chase be blamed for “costing a championship”?   Oh, what a tangled web we weave.

She Said: Did you just really ask me ‘Do the drivers not in the Chase really race’? I can understand how that might intrigue you but how about: do they really race the drivers in the Chase, too? Of course they do! It goes both ways! And, on top of that, they race themselves since that’s where most of the races are won or lost. NASCAR’s become so very complicated. Not only do the drivers in the Chase have to deal with the other 11 drivers racing for the Cup, they also have to deal with the other 31 who may resent having to deal with them for being those elite 12 and at the same time have to fight and claw through them to stay in the top 35. As Michael Waltrip would say, “do the math!” Take 12 positions out of those top 35 that need to be there to be “qualified” to race next year, and you’ve now got 23 positions left to be filled by the remaining 31 drivers in the field. So how do you fit 43 drivers into 35 on regular race days? You don’t. How do you fit 31 drivers into 23 positions the last ten races of the season when some of them are fairly desperate? Again, you don’t. Someone’s gonna lose and it isn’t pretty and it isn’t fair.   Supposedly, NASCAR did all this in the name of competition. If they really want competition worthy of the caliber of the teams we have today, then change the system. They need to make it real competition the old-fashioned way so that it isn’t regulated by the luck of the draw or how big your owner’s wallet is, but by sheer performance and what’s happening when the checkers fly! Then, all the drivers would be racing each other and know where they stand all the time. The drivers in the Chase would then be doing their best to gain the most points toward their goal… a Cup Championship. The driver closest to the thirteenth position would be doing his best to meet his goal, the million bucks. And, all the drivers below would be racing for their best possible finish at the end of the season for their best possible paycheck, NOT a process of elimination that Lady Luck creates with a roll of the dice!     Monster Mile Madness   He Said: Virtually no wrecks a Bristol and it’s a demolition derby at Dover. What is up with that? One would think with all the cautions more than 6 cars would find themselves on the lead lap. Tempers were hot even Kyle Petty put his hands on another driver. That ole’ hot headed Kyle, lol! After that I almost expected Mark Martin to run over someone. Every driver in the chase except Tony Stewart and race winner Carl Edwards had one problem or another. Some were self-inflicted and others were the result of getting collected. It was definitely a wild night up North!   She Said: Madness would be an accurate description of the wreck fest Dover became! I can’t recall a race in recent years in which I’ve seen only 6 cars on the lead lap in the closing laps like Sunday! Monster Mile Madness may be Dover’s new driver illness after watching Denny Hamlin punt Petty. Then, watching Petty trying to talk to Hamlin with his hands, in Hamlin’s garage and flipping the visor down while still pointing his finger over and over again. It’s no wonder Denny climbed out! But nonetheless, Hamlin was flat out wrong and Petty was right. If you’re ill, don’t race the day before, get well so you can FOCUS on the race that really matters, which is the Cup race. Granted, Petty may not be the “hot dog” Hamlin is (and obviously thinks he is), but Petty’s frustration is equally valid as he’s racing to keep racing. He’s one those “too many” drivers trying to fit the top 35 of NASCAR’s rules. And yes, Hamlin’s frustration might have been that he’s racing for the Cup but that’s still not a good reason to just punt someone out of your way. Where’s NASCAR and their “no aggressive driving” warnings? It’s just sophomore season sloppiness as Hamlin ended up hurting himself worst in the long run.

Advertise on StockCar Review, SCR has advertising rates starting as low as $12.00 per month. Email us at