Jimmie Johnson did not win the TUMS Fast Relief 500 on Sunday, but he became a smaller dot in Mark Martin’s windshield as far as the championship race is concerned. Denny Hamlin won the race, but his championship aspirations faded two weeks ago when he crashed himself out at California.
The lead in the standings jumped from 90 to 118 points.
Johnson, again, was the big winner this weekend.
Even when he loses, he wins.
Meanwhile, Tony Stewart, the driver that dominated the so-called regular season, has faded out of the picture.
He is 192 points behind Johnson with four races remaining.
I have a problem with the lack of recognition for drivers who lead the standings after 26 races.
Without typing in Jayski or Nascar.com in your web browser, can you name each of the drivers who led the standings after the 26
th race since 2004 other than Stewart in 2009?
Be honest with yourself.
If NASCAR awarded a monetary prize, bonus points, or some kind of official accolade, the fight to lead the standings after 26 races would have more meaning.
Instead, we have drivers among the top five settling for their current position because they already earned a place in the Chase for the Championship.
By the way, Jeff Gordon (2004), Tony Stewart (2005), Matt Kenseth (2006), Jeff Gordon (2007), and Kyle Busch (2008) are the previous five regular season champions.
Stewart in 2005 is the only regular season champion to win the actual championship. Notice how Johnson never led the standings following the 26
th race of any season.
Come on NASCAR; pat the regular season champions on the back.
Speaking of championship races, imagine if Brian France never altered the championship format back in 2004.
Tony Stewart would own a not-so snug 80-point edge over Jimmie Johnson, and a 117-point advantage over Jeff Gordon with four races left in the season.
Now, if Johnson owned an 80-point cushion with four races to go, it would be different.
Johnson is riding a monumental wave of momentum right now, so it would be extremely difficult for anyone to gain 80-plus points on the three-time champion.
Stewart, on the other hand, is not performing at the level he was from March to early August.
With Stewart’s lead and Johnson’s unrelenting momentum, this potentially could have been one of the most exhilarating championship showdowns since 1992, especially if Jeff Gordon continued to perform at a high level.
The three best drivers battling for the championship; it is not happening this year due to the Chase for the Championship.
It is a one-man show my friends.
That may or may not change after
Talladega, but as of now, Johnson appears to be well on his way to a fourth consecutive title.
Comments
When are we going to stop this foolishness of looking at the old point system. It is totally meaningless. For example the 48 team would have not tried to stretch the fuel at Michigan. That one race alone would have changed the complexion of the points if the old system was being used. I agree that the points leader after 26 races deserves something. I would give them an extra 50 points heading into the playoffs. But please stop what at best is an apples to oranges comparision.
It just goes to show you that Johnson is a driver over the short haul. He was never good enough to be consistent for the entire season. Which is why the chase is set up perfectly for him.
Come on you guys, even before the chase format Johnson has never finished outside of the top five in points. How can you say that he is not consistent enough for the entire season. They changed the way that they race after Nascar started the Chase format, this is not Nascar owned by Jimmie Johnson. Please stop with all of the complaining, why should everyone be upset about Johnson just because they are smart enough to race smart for the first 26 races then turn it on in the last 10. Every driver and team can do the exact same thing that the 48 teams does they just do not choose to. I am not a 48 fan but come on lets face it they are currently one of the smartest teams out there. I do agree that they do need to give the points leader after 26 races an extra bonus, but lets face it in the chase format the 48 team just dominates.
Always will be and always have been a Mark Martin fan.
Why would Rick S. say the stats are meaningless? So..that means ALL the races prior to the Chase are meaningless? Of course not. . but NASCAR has made them meaningless. We ALL understand we are the era of the Chase...have been for 6 seasons..but there are alot of fans who actually still think the ENTIRE SEASON counts...NOT just the "Chase 10". When I look at this season..I don't see Stewart as having any worse season then JJ...I see his season as being in reality better then JJ's...just flip flopped. It's a shame they even started the Chase...for a driver to work hard the entire season..and then have it taken away..sucks. JJ is the best in this last 10 races...but he wasn't the first 26...and in reality if Stewart holds his own the last four races..he actually will have gained more points then JJ the entire season...and to alot of fans..that is worth something. A season you gain the most points..but come in 2-12 in the championship? VERY STRANGE!
Josie - Read my posting again. I did not say that the stats were meaningless I said the comparison to the old point system is meaningless. There is no way to know what the points spread would be now if they were racing under the old points system. If we want to discuss who had the better season overall that is great. But because of the Chase and the reality that once you qualify for the chase the only thing that matters is "WINS" leading up to race 27 we will never know what the real year to date point totals would be.
Here is the thing the old system is not being used and the racers mentality for the first 26 isnt the same if it was the old system. So trying to make any comparisons doesnt work. Give it a break they are racing under different points format and thier gameplans are for such. When under the old points format would a guy in 12th place ever had a shot for the title after 26 races. Look back in history and see the furthest any has ever come back from to win the title after 26 races you probably wont find anyone outside the top 3 ever to come from behind after 26 races, if anyone has even done it.
I won't stop looking because I've hated the chase format since the begining it was a mistake...That should have never been made in the first place...I'm tired of everyone trying to turn this sport into another sport at one time it used to be one of a kind...If you like it this way good for you I don't...Jimmie and Knaus havee learn to race the chase...Yes your right people have changed the way they race...Does that make it better? No it's driving fans off...But those fans like myself are wrong so we'll just go away...Like we've been doing...You that like it this way really need to step up and spend more of your money... because as long as things are the way they are I won't...If you don't like that tough!!!!
Great article and most of the posts make people think. If Nascar rewards every win with 10 points at the beginning of the Chase. Why not reward the winner of the regular season 1) a trophy, 2) a purse, 3) more points because they worked hard all 26 races instead holding back.
For those that claim there is "no way" to know what the standing would be in the old system of points. Easily available at jayski.com with a little effort. Here they are.
1). #14-Tony Stewart, 4682
2). #48-Jimmie Johnson, 4602, -80
3). #24-Jeff Gordon 4565, -117
4). #5-Mark Martin, 4231, -451
5). #11-Denny Hamlin, 4217, -465
6). #2-Kurt Busch, 4170, -512
7). #42-Juan Montoya, 4149, -533
8) #39-Ryan Newman, 4058, -624
9). #16-Greg Biffle, 3997, -685
10). #99-Carl Edwards, 3965, -717
11). #18-Kyle Busch, 3920, -762
12). #9-Kasey Kahne, 3919, -763
13). #17-Matt Kenseth, 3895, -787
14). #33-Clint Bowyer, 3805, -877
15). #00-David Reutimann, 3764, -918
16). #83-Brian Vickers, 3761, -921
I totally understand we are "in reality" and the Chase is "reality". What I am saying is...should a driver who comes in 12th the first 26 races...maybe 300+ behind...or a driver in 6th 200 behind..should they win the championship? The only thing the Chase shows me is who can keep it together for the final 10 races..whether it be for "luck"...i.e. not getting flats, engine problems or in someone else's wreck...or whether it be for good driving and car setup. I will admit...JJ has unbelievable luck...and his cars are always good. BUT..that is NOT the case for his team the ENTIRE season. SO...to me it boils down to have a "good" season...enough to at least be 12th..and then you have to have all the "luck" in the world..and be damned for the other 26 races. So...sorry..it just doesn't make sense to me...we are not football or baseball or basketball...and no matter what..having 43 cars racing during a 12 car championship doesn't cut it. Too many variables.
The chase is a disgrace to the sport and it's history. There is no reason, under any logic, that a guy in 12th after 26 races deserves a shot at the title. The Chase is ruining NASCAR. Under the old system all but 5 or 6 drivers would be well out of it after 18 races and going for wins only, instead you have the top 15 points racing for a shot. In the past with 10 races to go only 3 or 4 would remain, the rest shooting for wins, instead we reset it so the top 12 are points racing. The system itself has altered the quality of action on the track each week, and for the worse. Look at JPM, he was well out of the title and would have gone all out many times this season for the win, instead he pints raced, the events were boring, and I changed the channel.
FYI, those points I posted are after the Martinsville race.. Currnet points, using old points system.. Was not room to include that info in the post.. Meaningless, I know.. Intersting, yes..
Here it is, plain and simple. The old points system was better. We 'the true fans' of NASCAR know this. I mean who can forget the Davey Allison-Alan Kulwicki-Bill Elliott championship battle in 1992. Wasn't decided until final race of the season. Some people want to claim it's an apples to oranges comparison. Well I submit that the old system are sweet juicy Florida oranges and the new one are the apples, rotten apples.
Dear JohnP and others,
When someone like Rick S says "will never know what the real year to date point totals would be" they aren't saying that we can never know what the points total would be under the old system if we totalled up the points from this season. A monkey and a calculator can do that for pete's sake. What some of you are missing was the meaning behind the words "real year" in that sentence.
What they, and I as well would argue, is that the very presence of the chase format has manipulated and altered the results of the first 26 races in the same way a late race "debris" caution does. There is no way, no how, under the old system, that Knaus would have taken two incredibly wild and almost impossible fuel gambles at BOTH michigan races this year. They threw away, literally, about 200 points right there because they understood that once the chase began, those 200 points WOULDN'T MATTER one iotta, but the potential 10 or 20 bonus points would.
The race strategy, and the gambles that are or are not taken, are different under this system than the old one, thus were they racing under the old system the finishes in ALL of the races this year would have been different. We can never know what THOSE finishes would have been, and thus never know what the REAL point totals would have been for those races had they been run under the old system, where all 36 races mattered equally.
Applying the points accumulated while under this system, to the old system, is like taking the speed of a runner in a sprint race and extrapolating that had they competed in a 20 mile marathon they would have won by XXX margin. Wrong, because there's no way they would have kept such a pace in a marathon. The way a runner approaches a marathon is different than a sprint, because it's two different formats.
Same with the chase system vs old system. Two different formats. Get it?
Oh, and for the record, I dislike the chase and consider it a Brian era gimmick. The old system required teams/drivers to perform at a high level over the entire system, which was somewhat unique to our sport. IMO trying to be like stick-and-ball sports is pointless, we aren't, never were. However, you had snoozer years under the old system too, it happens, every year can't be like the 2004 chase or the 2001 championship.
Also, R.I.P. Alan and Davey
And, they wonder why the fans are staying away. I don't watch much anymore, It is the Chad and Jimmy show directed by Brian France. They let them slide by with their cheating and punish others, I hope the have lots of empty seats.
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