The Miami Herald from Miami, Florida • 47

HP sc sSHIP WEEKEND il 4 I 1 si ggi T'5r-V Ar'U L-tf sbite Jimmie nding playoff format in $ns MIAMI HERALD WISE PHOTOS to the final lap of the final race of the season also at Homestead But just fine with drivers such as Miami resident Juan Pablo Montoya who switched to NASCAR after spending several years in open-wheel racing many people are watching Montoya said dismissively pointing to the low television ratings How does NASCAR with its four-hour races nine-month season and confusing points system rank? second behind just the NFL in terms of viewers think done enough tinkering for the time being" said Jim Hunter NASCAR's vice president of corporate communications think we could turn the points system upside dowm and that team would still be leading the points When it comes down to the Chase no one is any better than that a 1 i r- be safe throughout the season and during the Chase This change has had only a slight affect on lead over Martin this year Johnson has been awarded 50 additional points and Martin 45 for their respective victories Denny Hamlin sits eighth in the Chase standings and has no shot at the title His only complaint in the format is that he could have a car that has done well all season yet still finish in the lower half of the Chase standings looks terrible when you finish 11th or 12th in the Chase when been the second- third- fourth-best car pretty much all year Hamlin said in late October the only problem I have with it If they gave points for us running up front for most of the time maybe have a shot at this championship But unfortunately they only on finishing cr 1 1 dominance appears to thinking we have to adjust it again keep doing that that In 2004 the series was known as the Nextel Cup and Matt Kenseth was a beleaguered defending champion The year before Kenseth won the points championship which was then decided by an entire worth of races despite winning just one race By comparison Ryan Newman finished sixth despite winning eight races and earning 11 poles The ensuing firestorm helped bring about the Chase which is a 10-race playoff system at the end of the season In short the points reset after race 26 and the top dozen drivers are the only ones eligible for the championship The points system underwent slight changes in 2007 when more weight was given to race champions -i 1 vwj time being resurgent questions of whether the Chase for the Cup format needed more revamping Among drivers and league executives there is an agreement that no matter how the Chase was structured Johnson would be in the seat for the series title 2009 statistics tell the story: seven victories 15 top-fives 23 top-lOs and an average finishing position of 12th place He has been dominant and consistent In short he is the type of champion NASCAR had in mind when it went to the Chase format five years ago won an incredible amount during this said Kurt Busch who won two weeks ago at Texas Motor Speedway couple years ago we thought the Chase format needed adjusting so we gave more points to race wins Now so far ahead ed a-to w-FL 2m or on he position bitten us right at the very end the way Johnson is performing not going to be leading the points in this position anywhere even if we have the two bad weeks that we Because of wreck the race Sunday at Homestead still has meaning If Martin who has finished fourth in the Series four times in his career wins Ford 400 and leads the most laps he will win his first series championship if Johnson finishes no better than 26th and leads no laps But long-term the nature of NASCAR with its 36-week schedule its 43-car field and powerful garages such as Hendrick Motor-sports which has the top three drivers in the Chase doesn't always allow for the drama seen in the IndyCar Series IndyCar came down TITLE SCENARIO 1 Jimmie Johnson wins the Sprint Cup title if he finishes 25th or better 27th with one lap led or 28th with the most laps led regardless of what Mark Martin dees 2 Mark Martin wins if Johnson mshes 31st or worse and he wins the Ford 400 3 Jeff Gordon No 3 in the Chase for the Sprint Cup standings will be eliminated from the championship if Johnson starts Sunday start at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday could undo an entire season of dominance put my guard Johnson said and everything can go misfortune quieted at least for the i I THINK DONE ENOUGH TINKERING FOR THE TIME BEING I THINK WE COULD TURN THE POINTS SYSTEM UPSIDE DOWN AND THAT TEAM WOULD STILL BE LEADING THE POINTS WHEN IT COMES DOWN TO THE CHASE NO ONE IS ANY BETTER THAN THAT TEAM jim hunter vice president of corporate communications iwtffiiiyfri S2 22.