NASCAR: Chris Buescher Exemplifies Why The Chase Is Broken
It’s no secret that NASCAR fans have waited years to see a first-time winner in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. While Chris Buescher fits the bill, his win also revealed a flaw in the current Chase format.
The last time that NASCAR saw a first-time winner was in 2014 when AJ Allmendinger and Aric Almirola both won races and went to the Chase as a result of those wins. Almirola also won a weather-shortened race and Allmendinger won on a road course.
Prior to 2014 fans saw David Ragan, Regan Smith and Trevor Bayne all win races but not go to the Chase. Fans also saw a first-time winner in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series was in 2009, when Joey Logano won a rain-shortened race at New Hampshire with Joe Gibbs Racing. While Logano’s win was an impressive one, especially with how he executed his team’s strategy to perfection and was able to stay out front, it wasn’t enough to earn him a spot in the Chase that year.
Believe it or not, Logano missing the NASCAR Chase in 2009 was a good thing.
Sure, Logano did get the surprise win and established himself as a legitimate threat in the Sprint Cup Series, but he didn’t have the consistency to deserve a spot in that year’s Chase. Unfortunately for fans, NASCAR threw out the need for consistency and a legitimate playoff system when they created the new Chase format in 2014.
Yes, instead of rewarding consistency, which is used to determine playoff spots for a multitude of mainstream sports, NASCAR decided to declare that one win and top-30 finish in the points will guarantee you a spot in that year’s playoff. Not only does that give a Chase berth to any driver that ends up in the right place at the right time at the end of the day, it also robs spots from drivers who have been consistent.
Think about it! Chris Buescher sits six points out of 30th place and a guaranteed spot in the Chase while drivers like Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, Kasey Kahne and others who have remained in the top-20 in the standings all year long are still fighting just to make the top-16. Is that even fair? Furthermore, is that a legitimate way to structure your playoff format?
This is by no means is a way to rain on Buescher’s parade and his surprise victory on Monday, but it should serve as an example that a single win and a 30th place finish in the standings should not give you a spot in the NASCAR Sprint Cup playoffs. While some fans might argue that this rule is a way to give the underdog a chance to win it all at the end of the season, it’s really nothing more than setting someone up to fail.
If Buescher does make the Chase, and that’s still a pretty big if at this point in time, does anyone really think he will make it out of the first round? Not only would that be nearly impossible with drivers like Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr.,, Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick all competing with better equipment and more experience, it also does nothing to enhance the Chase at all.
Yes, the Chase spot would do wonders for the careers of Chris Buescher and Front Row Motorsports, but it would also be the equivalent of throwing a rock in a pool and watching it sink to the bottom immediately. It doesn’t help the excitement of the Chase or the fans, it’s just a way for driver to gain a little extra exposure and hopefully come back next season with a better funded team.
That’s why NASCAR has a huge choice to make.
It might not be a popular one, especially since NASCAR fans have been eager to see a first-time winner for years now, but to continue to set such a low bar for Chase eligibility cannot continue to happen. As for what NASCAR can do to rectify this little blemish on their precious Chase format, they essentially have two options.
The first would be to raise the bar for how to become eligible for The Chase. This could be done by either requiring a driver with a win to make top-20 in the points, or force them to win two races to prove that their win wasn’t a fluke. This would be the easiest solution to the problem and would also do a great job at curtailing wavier drivers from doing the same after coming back from injury.
The second thing NASCAR could do is create a wild card weekend event the week before the Chase begins and give drivers with a win and a finish outside the top-30 in points a chance to earn a wild card spot. Of course this would require dropping two to four spots from the Chase from drivers who would normally make the Chase on points. However, it would add to NASCAR becoming more of a mainstream sport and would be a great way to deal with fluke winners and winners outside the top-30.
must read: NASCAR's Biggest Issue Is Their Fans
Will it be a popular change? Probably not. NASCAR fans have been resistant to change for quite some years now and have even left the sport over it, but to have such low standards for what constitutes a driver getting a Chase spot is an embarrassment to the sport of NASCAR and will only bring more criticism to the way our playoffs are handled than ever before.
Make your decision NASCAR, but please make one that upholds the integrity, intensity and validity of the sport we all know and love. If not, your basically just using the first time winner as a prop to prove your little Chase system favors the underdog and giving them and their team a little pay check for sitting pretty until the end of the first round. Is that something your proud of?