Chase Format Creates Championship Opportunity for All 12 Drivers

With the waving of the checkered flag on a warm Sunday afternoon, the field for the Chase for the Sprint Cup series championship was set. 

Kyle Busch leads the pack after a dominating regular season. With eight wins, he comes into the Chase with an 80-point lead over 12th place Matt Kenseth.

Carl Edwards falls in behind him with 50 points. Remember, he was penalized 10 bonus points for the rules violation at Las Vegas early in the year.

The red-hot Jimmie Johnson comes in to the Chase winning two in a row and four races so far this year. Dale Jr., Jeff Burton, Clint Bowyer and Denny Hamlin all have one win apiece.

Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle, Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick and Matt Kenseth all set out 80 points behind leader Kyle Busch. They have yet to win in 2008. The Chase for the Cup is officially on and it truly is anyone's Cup to win.

I know Kyle Busch has dominated this season like his former employer dominated last year. Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson have been on fire the last couple months, but with resetting the points, only 80 points separate the leader from Matt Kenseth. So one mistake from anyone can either help or hurt a driver's chances of winning the Championship.

The Chase did to Kyle Busch what it has done to Jeff Gordon many times before: wipe out a huge lead and bring 11 other drivers that much closer to ruining a career year for Kyle Busch.

For the five drivers who have not won a race this year, this is the best shot they have at winning the Championship since early in the year.

That's the beauty of the Chase. All 12 of the drivers have a chance to win this in the next 10 races. Each driver has tracks coming up that if they can run well, they can claim the trophy come November.

80 points is not a huge lead. With one bad race for any of the top three guys and the standings can change in a instant.

I have read numerous articles that basically say if you're not Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson or Carl Edwards, you do not have a shot. This is wrong. We have been crowning a champ since early this year, and it changed from week to week. But with the Chase and resetting the points to 5,000, if your driver gets hot at the right time, he could be sitting on stage in New York. 

Look at Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon last year. Jeff won a couple in row and took the championship point lead with five to go. Jimmie got red-hot and won four in row and won the championship.

It's anyone game, and the difference between last year and this year is that there was no competition for Gordon and Johnson. This year, there is plenty.

There is also the possibility that the Cup winner could come from a driver who does not win at all this season. The only way for that to happen is for the drivers who have won to struggle mightily. The winless driver would have to run top fives every race. The likelihood is very small, but it is still there.

Racing is also about momentum, and it can change in a instant. One bad pit stop, being involved in accident or running out of fuel, can end one driver's hopes for a championship in a instant, and ignite another driver's chances.

I personally like the format with the Chase. Yes, it has cost my favorite driver Jeff Gordon at least two championships, but it makes winning and consistency very important, especially in this 10-race shootout.

I actually think they should adjust the format that you can fall out of the top 12 in the chase, and another driver who currently sits outside the Chase cutoff could replace if you if you have a couple bad races.

Why? Because for the drivers who don't make the Chase, their year is theoretically over. With no shot at winning the championship and if they are sitting in the top 35 comfortably, they are racing just as hard to win for pride, but in the grand scheme, they are just running laps. The drivers sitting just outside the Chase are hoping to play spoiler for the top 12.

The races in the Chase have been the same since the inception of the current format. But I would hope in the coming years, NASCAR officials look at rotating the races in the chase.

Give tracks that normally don't get the spotlight during the "regular season" a chance to be a factor in the Chase. Adding a road course would showcase every type of track in the Chase.

The Chase should be very exciting. The competition is some of the best we have seen in years. There will be so many factors this year, and the winner might not be who we think it will be.

These drivers are the best in stock car racing. With 10 to go, it's  going to be a shootout, and every  pit stop, every lap, every caution counts and these 12 drivers are hoping they can capitalize on someone else's mistake.