Jimmie Johnson and Rick Hendrick celebrate a win at Darlington earlier this season. Credit: Autostock

Hendrick would like to see tweaks to Chase format

CONCORD, N.C. -- Rick Hendrick has five NASCAR championship trophies, so he knows what it takes to win the title.

However, he isn't a fan of the new Chase for the Nextel Cup format, as it's currently set.

Rick Hendrick

"Well, I like the old program," Hendrick said after Jimmie Johnson drove one of Hendrick's cars to Victory Lane in Saturday night's UAW-GM Quality 500 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. "I know it's interesting in the last 10. But it's almost like a throwaway lap to get into the top 10."

Hendrick said resetting the field so that all 10 drivers are within 45 points of the leader brings too much luck into the equation.

"I personally believe there ought to be a 200-point spread between first and 10th going into the 10-race deal," Hendrick said. "It's just hard. It's not like basketball or baseball. A lot of things can happen.

"It's awful tough when you've been there all year long. It's the format and we accept it and that's the way we've got to race. But I do believe there could be some adjustments for winning and the guy who goes into the 10-race stretch with the most points ought to have at least 200 over the other guy."

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Johnson agrees, saying that the championship will go to the team that avoids troubles over the 10-race schedule rather than the team that may have run the best.

"That's what is so dangerous about the perspective I take on the championship with a 10-race shootout," Johnson said. "All the teams are capable of putting together 10 races. That's a short program for what we're used to doing."

At the halfway point of the Chase, Johnson said it's come down to three contenders. And of those three, he favors teammate Jeff Gordon to win a fifth championship.

Credit: Autostock

"Now that it's looking like a three-man race, I stack the odds in Jeff's hands," Johnson said. "The man has so much experience and knows how to win championships. He's had that pressure on him. He's got four of those trophies already.

"If you look at what he did (Saturday night) and what the team did, they were able to rally back from two incidents and finish second. Those guys know how to do it and if I was in Vegas, I'd put some money on them."