Gordon is IN!

[Devin41]

Am I the only person that thinks NASCAR handled this entire controversy perfectly?

No you're not but IMO the only thing that would have made it perfect is 14 drivers with Truex Jr. being in...really he was the "innocent criminal" in the whole MWR scandal...all he did was race and earned his spot but he gets kicked out because his teammates manipulated the race so he would get in?!!!

 

[TheBass]

this is pathetic, 13 cars now really!! if nascar can just simply add someone then what's the point of even having a chase, Bring back the old system and this crap wont happen. And once again Hendrick Motorsports whines and gets what they want, talk about appeasement

 

[Mystical]

Glad they added Gordon. He got ripped off by all the cheating going on in the race near the end.

 

[D0rant]

Man, if ole 4 time went and won it all......

He'd be remembered as the guy who won the championship thanks to the France family and questionable decision. That's even more artificial than the usual "Chase" winners.

P.S. Expect Danica to make the chase next year as the 13th driver... Not sure what the excuse will be but Mr. France will definitely give us a great argument "I have the power to make this decision" he'll say.

 

[nascarfan89]

I also think NASCAR handled the situation perfectly. They balanced out the need for fair play with the realities of the situation. Extraordinary situations call for extraordinary measures, and that's what this was. I believe the Chase is fine as is, and that this will be the only time we see a controversy like this for a very long time.

 

[Devin41]

And once again Hendrick Motorsports whines and gets what they want, talk about appeasement

Trust me it was nowhere near as bad as what a high school here did last year to keep their football team in the playoffs...

On another note, NASCAR is the sanctioning body and can do whatever they want. We fans can complain about it all we want but when they make a decision on something, it's final and we just have to deal with it and move on.

 

[RP Motorsports]

I'll always defend NASCAR more than anyone, and I dont think they ever get the credit or respect they deserve.

But I think this was a terrible call. They're trying to police manipulation by manipulating the situation. You cant go back and change history, especially when 100 other things couldve happened in the closing laps, had Bowyer not spun.

At the end of the day, Gordon didnt miss the Chase because of the Richmond incident, he missed it because he wasnt good enough over the course of 25 other races. If you're going to just stick Gordon in the Chase based on what MIGHT'VE happened had Bowyer not spun, then theres a huge ripple effect with 100 other things you could justifiably alter. It sets a very bad precedent, and kind of treads closer to the "WWE" references people often joke about. Not good for the integrity of the sport.

 

[TheBass]

On another note, NASCAR is the sanctioning body and can do whatever they want. We fans can complain about it all we want but when they make a decision on something, it's final and we just have to deal with it and move on.

On the other hand they wont know they messed up unless we voice our opinions its kinda like the Xbox one fiasco

 

[evan07]

This is so crazy! I feel like NASCAR did a awesome job handling the situation!

 

[eX29]

After all this controversy, I think that's time to fold the Chase system

Hey NASCAR: 43 drivers, 36 races, who ever has the most points after 36 races wins the championship. Such a novel concept... :-/

Florida, thank you! I was thinking that EXACT thing the whole time since this controversy all started. Why not just do whoever has the most points at the end of the season?

It's easy, competitive and you don't need to belittle a driver that dominated the season or a consistent driver that finished almost all races on a top 5, for an example.

While I do agree with this (I was never in favor of the chase format) it just wouldn't be fair to the guys who would of won championship in the past 10 years under the old format, guys like Carl Edwards (twice), Kevin Harvick, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and possibly Dale Earnhardt JR in 2004? I'm not sure about that one... Jimmie Johnson would of won it twice or three times under that format.

BUT even IF it was still under the old format or chase format I'm happy NASCAR is stepping up to sort out issues like we got at Richmond last weekend. I don't agree with some of the things they did, tho BUT happy that they seem to be working towards eliminating stuff like last weekend.

I don't think that the caution should come out for stupid reason(debris on the apron is not a reason for a caution ) like someone spinning to help a teammate (I'm a Kevin Harvick fan and didn't agree and was not happy when Paul Menard did it two or three years ago. I also like Clint and was not happy when that caution came out, disgusted when I found out it was part of a plan to help Truex), or giving up spots on the track to help someone get in the chase or help towards the championship, teammates or not.

It's something that needs to get sorted out either way and happy that they're taking that step now for the future... still would prefer the old format without the chase, with the new points system, ofcourse BUT it wouldn't be fair to guys that dominated and would of won the championship from the overall points for the entire season during the past 10 years.

 

[Lap_Down]

LOL. All the Hendrick/24 haters are out in full force now (not talking about here)... they were muted before because they couldn't really say anything about the 15 spin since it was so obvious... but Nascar just gave them a giant gift to feed their hate.

If only Nascar had done this earlier then IMO they wouldn't look as foolish as they do now. IMO they didn't need solid proof to begin with... it was always gonna be a judgement call.

Very happy for all the 24's sponsors though. Go 24!

 

[bigrolltide1877]

No matter who wins the championship this year there will be a asterisk by the year. If we had the old system without the chase this would already be jimmie's title.

 

[eX29]

No matter who wins the championship this year there will be a asterisk by the year. If we had the old system without the chase this would already be jimmie's title.

I don't know about that Carl Edwards passed him in points after Richmond.

 

[Markfan]

If we had the old system without the chase this would already be jimmie's title.

Actually Jimmie would be in danger of losing the lead still without the chase, he lost a huge amount of points in the last 5 races and Clint, Carl and Kevin all caught up.

 

[zaw24fan]

No matter who wins the championship this year there will be a asterisk by the year. If we had the old system without the chase this would already be jimmie's title.

So explain to me how this championship was already Jimmie's when he trailed Carl Edwards by a point leaving Richmond before the Chase was reseeded.

 

[timnsr72]

This year will be know as the "year of the 13 driver chase" & people will complain about this years chase no matter which one of the 13 drivers win. I really am excited now for the race on sunday!

 

[bigrolltide1877]

Im pretty sure some of those races they was experimenting and all of that good stuff and then some of it was just plain bad luck.

 

[D0rant]

Im pretty sure some of those races they was experimenting and all of that good stuff and then some of it was just plain bad luck.

Well yeah but how can you say something like "It would be Jimmie's year" if there's no proof. And how do we know guys like Edwards or Bowyer wouldn't be racing harder if there was no chase to begin with. What many people fail to see is that The Chase changes a lot of things. You don't need to push too hard in the first 26 races, you need to be consistent and collect those top 10's. Who knows if the chase was never invented who would've actually won those titles.

 

[ThatOneShredder]

I do believe this is the beginning of the end... I know nobody else sees it that way, but I see it as a joke. And I don't even hate Gordon. Who knows, they might expand the chase next year for more drivers. It'll eventually come down to half the field getting their points reset....

 

[Elio Lugaru]

NASCAR, Thank you for not kicking Logano out of the Chase.
(Yes, I'm a Logano fan. So what? )