NASCAR What If: The 2006 Chase Under 2014 Rules
USA Today Sports
Final Race – Homestead-Miami
Below are how the final-four drivers in the chase ran at Homestead-Miami and how the championship panned out.
- Denny Hamlin – 3rd place
- Kevin Harvick – 5th place
- Tony Stewart – 15th place
- Dale Earnhardt Jr. – 19th place
In this season under the 2014 rules Denny Hamlin would have won the championship. Just like in 2005 Greg Biffle won the final race of the season.
If NASCAR had dreamed up this current chase system some 10 years ago it would have had an immediate impact on history as Kurt Busch, Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson would not have won the championship in 2004, 2005 and 2006 respectively.
Be on the lookout for the 2007 edition of “NASCAR What If” sometime in the near future.