Chase Gets All the Attention

The Chase has replaced the Race in NASCAR.

After 24 races in the Nextel Cup season, Tony Stewart leads Jimmie Johnson by 213 points going into today’s day-night Sony HD 500 at California Speedway in Fontana, and virtually no one cares.

Two years ago, and for years before that, speculation would have surrounded Johnson’s chances of catching the 2002 champion before the 36th and final race at Homestead, Fla. Greg Biffle and perhaps Rusty Wallace, in his farewell season, would have been topics of conversation in the garages, along pit row and in the grandstands and places where NASCAR Nation congregates.

Or there would have been talk about who might win the twilight Sony HD race.

Or can Jack Roush’s Fords finish 1-2-3-4 in the race? They did just that in qualifying Saturday. Rookie Carl Edwards won the pole with a 185.061-mph lap, followed by Mark Martin, Nextel Cup champion Kurt Busch and Biffle.

Other race scenarios: Can Stewart regain the impetus that helped him win five of seven races and win for the first time at Fontana? Can Wallace or Martin win in their last run in the race? Can Matt Kenseth win two in a row after his impressive outing last week?

Not much of that matters in an era of the “Chase for the Championship.”

This year, it’s all about the drivers ranking eighth through 15th: Edwards, Ryan Newman, four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon, Kenseth, Jamie McMurray, Elliott Sadler, Dale Jarrett and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

And that is exactly what Brian France had in the mind when he announced before the 2004 season that NASCAR was changing its championship procedure from a 36-race points system to a 10-race playoff involving only the top 10 drivers after the first 26 races.

France, NASCAR’s chief executive officer, said he wanted more teams, more drivers and, especially, more sponsors involved toward the end of the season, the time that NASCAR has to compete with pro football for attention.

It certainly worked.

Gordon had the most points after last year’s season and would have won his fifth championship under the old system, but who remembers it? And, perhaps other than Gordon, who cares?

Kurt Busch, winner only once in the 10-race shootout but a model of consistency with nine top-10 finishes, became the champion.

Curiously, Gordon is receiving more attention going into today’s race than he would if he were leading.

He is clinging to the 10th and last spot in the Chase, but is only 11 points ahead of Kenseth, 12 ahead of McMurray and 34 ahead of Sadler, last year’s California winner.

Based on his record on the two-mile D-shaped oval at Fontana, Gordon’s chances look good. He has won three times, the only multiple-winner, and has finished 11th or better in seven of the 10 races held there. He had been fastest in every practice session but slipped to sixth Saturday when it counted.

On the negative side, his last two finishes at California have been 37th and 30th.

“The DuPont team doesn’t mind the pressure, but our approach is to focus on what we can control and not worry about the other teams,” Gordon said. “The race itself keeps your attention enough as it is. You’re just trying to battle with other cars, trying to work your way to the front or stay up front and constantly thinking about the handling of the car.

“It’s at the end of the race, you are aware on the position you are battling with in the points.”

Behind Sadler, it is unlikely that either Jarrett, the 1999 champion, or Earnhardt, the people’s choice, can reach the top 10.

Jarrett has himself to blame for his position. When he rammed Newman last week at Bristol in retaliation for an earlier bump from Newman, the ensuing accident damaged both their Chase chances, and also took out Kevin Harvick. Jarrett, who had been ninth after the Allstate 400 at Indianapolis, dropped to 14th at Bristol.

Earnhardt, raking in more money than anyone in racing, doesn’t seem to care. He has his rock band buddies, his own Busch Series team has a championship in sight, and he says of his Chase disappointment, “Hey, I’m racin’ and I’m havin’ fun.” His qualifying performance, 41st, did nothing to brighten the picture.

Like most changes, the Chase has pleased some and irritated others.

Wallace, out last year and in this year, and needing only to start today’s race to be in the top 10, probably summed it up best.

“I didn’t like it last year, I thought it was unfair to drivers like myself and Dale Jarrett who have done so much for NASCAR and weren’t able to get any recognition for our sponsors,” Wallace said. “Now I realize it was my fault, I should have run better.

“This year I’m fourth and I know it’s selfish on my part, but I like it. I’ve noticed that the top 10 creates a lot of excitement and that’s good.”