NHRA: Only Winners Advance

INDIANAPOLIS - The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) recently announced changes in its "Countdown to the Championship" in all four professional categories of the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.  No team in history has ever come back from outside the Top 8 contenders with six races remaining to win a NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series World Championship under the current point system. The restructuring is an inclusive program, says NHRA, where more competitors will have a chance to win the championship.  "Traditionally, prior to the final six races of the season, only a few teams still have had a shot at winning a POWERade World Championship," says NHRA President Tom Compton. "Under this new program, eight teams in each of the professional categories will have a legitimate chance to win. This historic change in our championship point structure will add more excitement and drama to the entire season and magnify the spotlight during the season's final six races - for our fans and the entire racing community. "This new format makes every race in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series schedule that much more important," continues Compton. "There is nothing in motorsports that rivals the traditional Sunday elimination brackets that have been a part of NHRA POWERade Drag Racing for years. By applying that elimination concept to determine the series points standings, we have by far the most intriguing and suspenseful battle for any championship in all of motorsports." NHRA takes a different track Unlike the NASCAR's "Chase for the Nextel Cup," the Top 8 drivers in the NHRA's Countdown championship series will not race against non-championship drivers. In the NASCAR Chase, all drivers - including those who are not in contention for the championship - race together in the final races. A poor performance by a contender in a Chase race can result not in being 10th in the points awarded, but as low as 40th - resulting in a huge gap for a driver to overcome.  For instance, in the first Chase race this year, contenders Kyle Busch and Jimmy Johnson both crashed their cars and finished 38th and 39th, respectively. They are now well behind the rest of the championship field. Some drivers in the NASCAR Nextel circuit, such as Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon, are calling for changes during the final 10 races that will separate those in and out of the championship run."By applying that elimination concept to determine the series points standings, we have by far the most intriguing and suspenseful battle for any championship in all of motorsports."
- NHRA President 
Tom Compton

"There should be a second points format, in my opinion. That way at least you don't have the teams that did make the playoffs playing against the teams that didn't make the playoffs,'" says Stewart, who is not in the final contending group this year but who placed second in the race. "That's the frustrating part. It's just like me getting between Kevin Harvick [the race winner] and Jeff Gordon [who placed third]. Jeff was the second Chase guy, and he should get second points." 

Gordon agreed with Stewart that a different points structure would make sense: "You have one bad day and that [pretty much] takes you out of it. I think if they had a structure of points just for the Top 10 - where if you're the last guy in the Top 10 you took a hit but not such a big one - that would be good."

Mano-a-mano Utilizing the final elimination round concept synonymous with the sport of NHRA POWERade Drag Racing, where winners move on and losers go home, the "NHRA POWERade Countdown to the Championship" features four distinct periods during the 23-race series, when competitors will be eliminated from the championship hunt in a playoff-style format. * 17 Qualifying Races: In the first 17 races of the season, all competitors in each of the four NHRA POWERade professional categories - Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle - will battle each and every race to secure a position in the Top 8 in the points standings. * Countdown to Eight: The final race to reach the playoffs will be the Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway in Reading, PA, Aug. 16 through 19, 2007.  After the Reading, PA, race, the championship fields of eight will be determined and their points will be adjusted. First place in the standings begins anew with 2,070 points; second place with 2,060 points and so on to eighth place starting with 2,000 points. * Countdown to Four: The field of eight in each category will then compete in four races, which will begin during Labor Day weekend at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals at O'Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis and will end at the Torco Racing Fuels NHRA Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park near Richmond, VA, Oct. 5 through 7.  After the Richmond race, the Top 4 in each category will make the cut to the next round. The Top 4 teams' points will again be reset. The first-place team in the standings will begin the final two races with 3,030 points; second place with 3,020 points; third place with 3,010 points; and fourth place with 3,000 points. * Countdown to One: The final two races of the season, the ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Oct. 18 through 24, followed by the season finale, the Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, CA, Nov. 1 through 4, will see the final four competitors in each category battle it out for the 2007 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing World Championship. In both stock car and drag racing, finishing races - and finishing them well - is the name of the game. Making the championship round for both requires it. The NHRA believes it has the solution that allows only contenders to determine the championship, without outside interference.(Sources: NHRA, NASCAR, AP Newswire)