Nascar Race Today

After yeas of review and two weeks of speculation over changes to the Chase for the Sprint Cup format, NASCAR made its decision last week to radically alter how it crowns its champion.

NASCAR at least got part of it right, even if the most difficult thing for many to stomach - four drivers tied in points going into the final race - remains part of the plan.

MORE: The new format | New Chase means more contact | Gear up for Daytona

From when the initial plan was floated to the final decision, NASCAR made two key moves that corrected some critical flaws.

The first was to keep bonus points for regular-season wins when entering the Chase. Drivers will start the Chase with 2,000 points plus three points for each regular-season win.

Many in the industry were under the impression that NASCAR was just going to reset everyone at 2,000 with no bonus. With the only requirement to get into the Chase being a win (as long as there aren't more than 16 winners), it would have meant anyone who won early in the season could experiment all the way to the Chase.

Even more importantly, there would have been much scrutiny and speculation over team orders if any driver without a win passed a teammate with a victory for the lead late in a race. Think about it. Jimmie Johnson has a win. He's leading Dale Earnhardt Jr. late in the race and Earnhardt catches him and passes him.

Justifiable or not, there would be inherent speculation on whether Earnhardt legitimately won that race. The teams would have been put in a position of having to defend themselves just because of that scenario and not necessarily because of their actions. Now Johnson has incentive to win - those three points could go a long way in the first round if a driver has a problem.

The other thing that NASCAR got right is the way it will allow drivers knocked out during the Chase to battle for fifth in the final standings.

NASCAR is eliminating four drivers after three Chase races, another four after the sixth Chase race and then another four after the ninth Chase race.

All drivers eliminated will have their points reset to 2,000, plus the bonus points for regular-season wins, plus the points they have earned in Chase races.

That means that a driver who has a great regular season but stumbles in the first three races of the Chase isn't relegated to finishing 13th-16th in the standings. NASCAR says this idea came from Kevin Harvick, and it is good that it listened.

So there are some changes in this system to feel good about. But the biggest issue that remains is that it will be quite difficult to look at the champion the same way as past champions, to look at the champion as truly the best driver rather than someone who survived three Chase rounds and then won the title in the final race.

PHOTOS: 2014 Media Tour | Jimmie's 2013 championship year

Only in NASCAR could the sanctioning body introduce a system predicated on winning that, when applied to the year before, shows that a driver could win the championship without winning a race. Looking at last year's Chase, Johnson beat Earnhardt in eight of the nine Chase races leading into the final event. But Earnhardt ran better than him in the finale and would have won the championship under the new system.

That's not to say that is the way it would have ended up. Obviously drivers would have raced differently under different circumstances. But when a driver loses to another in several Chase races yet can have one great day and win the title, it won't be as impressive as a driver whose average finish was fifth in the Chase.

There are two other things that cause concern with this system. The first is that it makes fuel strategy a key to getting in the Chase. If fans take issue when a driver wins a fuel-mileage race before, they certainly will now if a driver doesn't perform but uses a little strategy to get into the Chase. Or what about choosing whether to pit or not pit when it's raining? Let's hope Air Titan is good on the job so there are no rain-shortened events.

The other issue is that every NASCAR race-day decision will be even more critical and have greater implications. A judgment call could now have a much greater impact on whether someone gets in the Chase. NASCAR will need to be on its game and be consistent. It will need to be clear and very open about why it chose to throw a caution flag, or why not, why it chose to penalize a driver for jumping a restart, or why it put drivers in a certain order when the yellow came out.

The last race of the Chase will be exciting, no doubt about it. The elimination races could have a little more drama and at least a little more agony for those eliminated.

The key to all of this will be whether the fans leave the track satisfied or whether they will have the feeling that they saw a manufactured champion and not a true champion.