Nascar Race Today

Austin Dillon, right, holds up the pole award with car owner and grandfather Richard Childress after qualifying for the pole position in the Daytona 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series auto race at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla., Sunday, Feb. 16, 2014. (AP Photo/Terry Renna) ORG XMIT: DBR107

Yes NASCAR fans, the Post-Tribune's annual Fantasy NASCAR reader contest is back for a seventh year. Things have changed in this business since starting the contest, but what hasn't changed is our dedication to keeping it going due to the number of entries each year.

What has changed multiple times is NASCAR's format, whether it be the point system or the Chase format or qualifying - or all of the above this season.

NASCAR's hierarchy just can't leave well enough alone, so they have implemented drastic changes to almost everything this year that's going to take a while for longtime fans to get used to. I know it took me a while to get used to the Chase, but now the Chase is way different - and way convoluted if you ask me.

If you haven't heard or just need a refresher course, here goes ...

The Chase has expanded from 12 drivers to 16, and a bigger emphasis has been put on winning one of the first 26 races to qualify for the Chase. A victory almost certainly guarantees a driver will qualify for the Chase. I'm OK with that part, but that's about it because within the Chase, it will now be a round-by-round elimination format similar to the playoffs in one of the four major team sports.

"We have arrived at a format that makes every race matter even more, diminishes points racing, puts a premium on winning races and concludes with the best-of-the-best, first-to-the-finish line showdown race - all of which is exactly what fans want," NASCAR CEO and chairman Brian France said at a press conference last week.

I disagree with his assessment that the new format is "exactly what fans want." What fans? None that I talk to and not this sportswriter who is also a fan.

The Chase now is broken down into three-race rounds: the Challenger round, the Contender round and the Eliminator round. After Challenger, the four drivers with the lowest number of points will be eliminated from title contention. Same for the Contender round, leaving eight drivers for the Eliminator round. Going into the last race at Homestead in Florida, only four drivers will remain and the one who finishes best among those four is the champion.

Before I go on, let's pause to shake our heads, roll our eyes and collectively tell NASCAR it's idiotic.

What was really wrong with the format over the last seven years? Is it because Jimmie Johnson has won six of those seven titles? If fans are upset that he keeps winning, then implore your favorite driver to go faster than Johnson. Otherwise, accept that he's better than everyone else.

What this new format does is open up the possibility that the best driver doesn't win. Heck, the champion actually may be a complete no name who barely survives each round.

For basketball fans, it's like the 68-team field of the NCAA Tournament. Smaller schools such as Butler (twice), Wichita State and George Mason have made it to the Final Four. In Butler's case, it reached the final game and had a possible game-winning shot rim out at the buzzer.

Would Butler have been the best team in the country if that shot is made? Heck no, but it would have been the champion because of surviving and advancing - like the ESPN 30-for-30 on North Carolina State back in 1983.

It could now happen with NASCAR in this watered-down format. How about an off-the-wall example ...

Despite Richard Petty's chauvinist statement about Danica Patrick, it's possible she wins in the first 26 races - especially since three of those are restrictor plate tracks where anything can happen. She did earn the pole at Daytona last year and finished eighth. If she were in a different draft on the last lap, eighth could have turned into first in the blink of an eye.

So let's say Patrick gets lucky in a restrictor plate race. She would qualify for the Chase. Then she hangs in there through the first three rounds of the Chase, just doing well enough to not be in the bottom four. She arrives at Homestead in the final four (sounds like Butler, right?). All she has to do is finish better than three other survivors and she wins the title.

Sound impossible? No, it's not. It's very likely that happens, and there would be no way Patrick or any other driver who matriculates into the Chase through that set of circumstances deserves to hoist a Sprint Cup Championship trophy, but it could happen.

NASCAR changed to the Chase after Matt Kenseth won the 2003 title with just one victory all season. Since then, the least amount of wins a champion has had was three. But now, the new Chase format reverts back to the chance that the champion only has one win again, and that's not the definition of progress.

There's also a major change to qualifying. It's not just one session of drivers running a couple laps to get the best speed. At bigger tracks (1.25 miles or larger ... except for the restrictor place tracks where it will stay the same), there will be a 25-minute racing session with the 24 fastest cars advancing to the next round. Then after 10 more minutes, the top 12 will advance to a final 5-minute round of qualifying. The fastest driver in that last round earns the pole.

At smaller tracks there will only be two rounds. I actually like this change because it sounds more interesting for the fans, but that's from a race-by-race viewpoint, which is hos the majority of fans look at the sport. The new Chase format doesn't really improve a fan's view of the sport, unless they like the possibility of an undeserving driver winning a title.

Contest time: Our P-T Fantasy NASCAR contest begins this week; with entries due an hour before the race. Entries consist of five drivers and we will use the NASCAR point system to determine the best lineup. The top two readers each week earn spots in our drawing in July for tickets to the Brickyard 400 in Indianapolis.

As for this week, it's nice to see the No. 3 back in the fold. Rookie Austin Dillon, grandson of car owner Richard Childress, earned the pole for Sunday's Daytona 500. It's the first time "3" has been on a car in the 500 since 2001 when Dale Earnhardt died after a crash on the last lap. So I wouldn't be surprised if lots of readers pick Dillon in their five drivers. I know I did for sentimental reasons.