Let NASCAR Be NASCAR

The next step is a new Chase points system.

Even though the Chase drivers are racing against the 33 other drivers in the field, they are really racing amongst themselves.  Reset the points system like before, but give the Chasers a separate points system.  Award the highest-finishing Chase driver in a Chase race twelve points, the second-highest elven, so on, down to one. No bonus points, either.

This would also combat the "bad-luck" factor, and lets be honest: if Mark Martin finishes 24th at Darlington, but finishes ahead of everyone else in the Chase, he has done his job-he beat those whom he is racing against for the Championship. 

Or, if Jeff Gordon is taken out by David "I can't drive" Gilliland while he's trying to get back at another driver, that's not Gordons fault, is it? Using the same points system against those not in the Chase makes no sense-you're racing against 11 other men while simultaneously racing against 32 OTHER men. Dumb.

Re-vamping the point system would keep the point battles close, ensuring drama to the end; another added bonus to separate points systems is better racing.  Yes, that's right, better racing.  Because the difference between a first-place finish and a last-place finish would not be nearly as great as in the old points system, non-Chase drivers could actually race Chase drivers with some degree of aggressiveness.

Again, this would be an especially added bonus in the "new" Chase schedule.

Let drivers be drivers.

If Tony Stewart is P.O.'d about being wrecked, let him say what he wants to say without fining him.  One of the factors hindering the growth of this sport is the lack of personality-everyone walks and talks the same. 

These men are good men, they are real people.  They have emotions. 

One of the things that keeps fans interested in the NFL is the emotion of the game.  From Hines Ward crying after an AFC Championship Game loss to Dennis Green going berserk and smacking the podium in a post-game press conference shouting "They are who we thought they were! And we let 'em off the hook!

But if you wanna crown their ***, then crown their ***!", players show emotion.

In NASCAR, where access to the drivers is unrivaled, this needs to happen.  Physical violence, however, and on-track retaliation (like Gilliland vs. Montoya) should not be tolerated.  But letting this men be themselves will let the fans in, more so than before. 

Plus, this WILL spark rivalries.  Tell me there's not someone in the garage who doesn't want to fire back at Kevin Harvick after he says something stupid about another driver.  Like the "trash-talkers" (Stewart, Harvick, etc) or not, their emotion and personalities do nothing but help the sport.

Race real cars.

This IS the National Association for Stock-Car Auto Racing, so let's race real cars.  If I want to see a Charger and Fusion waste a Camry, then watch the Charger smoke the Fusion, I want to see the real deal-not a "generic-car with a Charger logo sticker smoke a generic-car with a Fusion sticker".

Racing real, stock cars would work in conjuncture with the limited-to-no factory support from Manufacturers in the future.  Instead of Dodge ponying up cash to help Kasey Kahne win on Sunday, GEM can go out, buy a Charger, and race it against whoever.  Safety modifications would need to be made, of course, but this way racing can go back to "the good 'ole days". 

And, quite frankly, there needs to be a reason the car companies race 'their' cars-if the 2010 version of the Fusion is going to have an I-Beam sticking out of the roof of the car, make them pay for it on the track. Car sales would benefit-Ryan Newman wins the Daytona 500 in a stock version of the Dodge Charger, people flock to buy the car that just won the Daytona 500; car companies would also strive to make the best cars possible, and it would open up possibilities for new cars (such as a Chrysler 300-C) and close the door on others (the 6-cylinder, FF Camry).

As mentioned prior in the article, most (if not all) of these changes will never take place, but to this writer would be beneficial to the sport in one way or another.  Thank you for reading this long article, and feel free to comment as you see fit.

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