Chase drama finally comes to the forefront at Phoenix

The idea behind the knockout Chase for the Sprint Cup format is to instill the kind of “Game 7 moments” NASCAR CEO and chairman Brian France believes compels drivers to push themselves to greater heights than they would otherwise.

But now in its third year, it’s become evident the elimination-style Chase cannot always produce the kind of water-cooler occurrences France desires. Although he wants competitors to focus almost exclusively on winning, drivers and teams have learned the nuances of the playoff structure, and that consistency and an avoidance of disastrous finishes can be as important as winning -- especially through the early rounds.

On Sunday, however, the best elements of the Chase were on full display in the semifinal-round elimination. With Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards already assured of advancing to next weekend’s championship finale, the remaining six drivers went toe to toe for the other two transfer spots.

At one juncture as the Can-Am 500 reached its closing stages, title-eligibles Matt Kenseth, Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, and Kurt Busch held the top-six positions on the leaderboard. So in flux was the order of who moved on and who would be eliminated, any pass carried the potential of altering the standings.

As if that wasn’t intense enough, the proceedings took a wild turn when, on an overtime restart, race-leader Kenseth thought he was clear of second-place Alex Bowman and attempted to go from the top groove to the bottom entering Turn 1. Yet Kenseth didn’t realize Bowman had closed the gap and the two made contact.

The aftermath saw Kenseth spin into the outside wall. Any shot he had of advancing into the next round was suddenly gone.

“Obviously, it’s more than disappointing,” Kenseth said. “We still had the race in control even on that last restart and I ended up giving it away.”

Drivers’ fortunes swinging from one extreme to other is just what France had in mind when he unveiled this new Chase format prior to the 2014 season. It may be artificially created, but it can be dramatic and wildly entertaining.

Further exemplified by what happened when Kenseth quickly fell on the wrong side of the cut line, as Logano went from being on the bubble -- he and Harvick had a fierce battle in the closing laps of regulation where if Harvick had passed him, it would’ve resulted in Logano’s elimination -- to capitalizing on Kenseth’s mistake and celebrating not only a win, but also the championship opportunity that awaits next weekend.

“I’ve never felt this good about a win before,” Logano said. “There was so much on the line and everyone brings their A-game when it comes to winning championships and this team did it.”

Filling out the bracket is Kyle Busch, the defending Sprint Cup champion whose title defense would’ve ended had Kenseth won. But the downfall of his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate worked to the betterment of Busch, who finished second.

Adding another layer of intrigue, Busch played a role in the run-in between Bowman and Kenseth. Busch had initially popped Bowman in the rear bumper, causing Bowman to get squiggly just before he and Kenseth collided.

“I got a little bit better restart than [Bowman] did and I felt like I had a run on him and had enough that I got to the inside, and if he chopped me he was going to get wrecked and that’s what happened,” Busch said. “But it carried on into [Kenseth] and essentially, I guess, I wrecked a teammate.

“It’s so frustrating and aggravating and I feel horrible about it. It’s a shame to see it come down like that.”

Busch’s actions may not have been intentional, nonetheless a driver involved either directly or indirectly in a teammate’s demise is precisely the kind of spectacle France sought. Raise the stakes, amplify the pressure then watch it all come together in the form of can’t-miss Chase theater.

Just don’t expect it to happen on a near-weekly basis in the Chase. As “Game 7 moments” like what transpired on Sunday are becoming increasingly fewer and fewer.