NASCAR CEO Brian France is going to provide his version of NASCAR’s State of the Union on Wednesday, and with it comes several expectations. The first of which is that he’ll announce a change to NASCAR’s longstanding point-paying system.
Preview: Brian France’s State of NASCAR Address
It’s unclear whether the changes would also apply to the Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series. What’s been reported is that the sactioning body is moving forward with its plan to pay 43 points for the win, 42 for second and one point less for each spot through last.
The change is likely a concession to fans who don’t understand the current system, one that pays 185 points for first, 170 points for second and a decreasing amount for each spot through last (34 points). How the changes would affect the Chase for the Championship is also unclear. Tom Bowles from Sports Illustrated redid the 2010 points, using the possible new and simpler points system and the results were largely the same.
Read the rest of the story after the jump!
The official points under the simpler method were as follow:
#48-Jimmie Johnson: 388
#29-Kevin Harvick: 387
#11-Denny Hamlin: 386
#99-Carl Edwards: 340
#17-Matt Kenseth: 314
#16-Greg Biffle: 293
#14-Tony Stewart: 287
#24-Jeff Gordon: 279 (+1 spot over current system)
#33-Clint Bowyer: 272 (+1)
#18-Kyle Busch: 267 (-2)
#2-Kurt Busch: 265
#31-Jeff Burton: 232
How bonus points would be divulged are still a mystery. The current system isn’t broken and as long as the ‘simpler method’ produces similar results, I won’t throw a fuss. This year’s Chase was the most exciting since the innagural playoff battle in 2004. Like it or hate it, the Chase for the Championship produced solid results in 2011 and any changes should produce similar results. Sweeping changes aeren’t neccesarry to combat slumping television ratings.
A common complaint of the current system is that winning just doesn’t mean enough and that the league should install additional bonus points for winning. I would compromise that if only we start awarding bonus points for winning the pole. Fridays and Saturdays should have an equal championship stake as Sunday.
The IndyCar model for awarding a bonus point for P1 should be NASCAR’s starting spot.
Also on the docket for Wednesday’s speech are plans to set the qualifying order based on practice speeds, and the starting order based on practice speeds if qualifying is rained out. This goes back to what was wrote above; making the entire weekend feel important for all three touring series. This accomplishes that and then some.
Other rumored changes include a FOX-pressed change to the average length of race days. On Monday, FOX Sports Chairman David Hill was asked if the races were too long.
”Hill said [that] the length of races -- many stretch well into a fourth hour -- is one of the problems that’s contributed to NASCAR’s sinking television ratings.
“I think the racing is far too long,” Hill said during Charlotte Motor Speedway’s annual media tour. “There is more diversion, more opportunities for stuff than any other time in man’s history.”
Hill said the ideal for Fox would be a four-hour broadcast window, with 40 minutes of pre-race coverage and 20 minutes of post-race coverage. Asked if he’d push NASCAR to shorten any of its races, Hill didn’t miss a beat.
“NASCAR doesn’t negotiate,” he deadpanned.”
Other rumored topics for tonight include:
*The 2013 Car of Tomorrow
*A reflection on the success of the ‘Have at it Attitude’
*Green fuel and energy
*New media markets
Join NASCAR Ranting and Raving tonight as we host the first “Race Day Open Thread” of the season as France addresses NASCAR Nation about the state of our sport.
SPEED will carry the address and subsequent Q&A live and without commercial interruption starting around 7 p.m. ET as part of NASCAR Race Hub. NASCAR.com will also stream the “State of the Sport” address live at 6:30pm/ET
What topics would you like to see the chairman broach?
Matt Weaver is the Sports Editor for The Vanguard (USA) and can be reached at jmatthewweaver(at)aol.com.
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