Johnny Benson is in the thick of a title race. More trucks could be involved in a playoff was in place. Credit: Autostock

Drivers' Chase thoughts differ for Truck Series

No plans in immediate future, if at all, to implement NCTS playoff

HAMPTON, Ga. -- Drivers in the Craftsman Truck garage seem split on whether a playoff-style format should be applied to their series, but NASCAR has made it clear that such a move is years away.

If at all.

	Todd Bodine thinks a full body of work should be rewarded. Credit: Autostock
	TRUCK SERIES •   Official Driver Standings

"We have talked about it, but we don't have any plans to go to it right now," said Jim Hunter, VP of Communications for NASCAR. "I think we will continue to look at it, but there are no plans to do it. Next year, we have not even discussed it."

No fewer than eight drivers are within 100 points of the Nextel Cup lead, in sharp contrast to the Craftsman Truck Series, which has become a two-man race with four races to go.

Heading into Saturday's EasyCare Vehicle Service Contracts 200, Todd Bodine leads Johnny Benson by 79 points, all but assuring Toyota its first NASCAR championship.

Even though Benson would have undoubtedly benefited from a playoff-style format -- he has scored four wins since June to move from fourth to second in the points -- he doesn't think the series should emulate the Chase.

"I think the system is fine the way it is. Every year it has been close," Benson said. "I think it is fine for right now. Let's see how the other system works and how it is going to work and how well it is going to work. Right now, we just need to be what we are."

Bodine doesn't like the Chase for the Nextel Cup format, and the last thing he wants is for it to be extended to the Truck Series. He says the format does not reward teams that excel all season.

"If you look at the last two of three years, Jimmie Johnson was way ahead in the points," Bodine said. "They did the job all year long to put themselves in position to win a points race, and they didn't win either one."

Brendan Gaughan had a major role in one of the tightest points races in any of NASCAR's three major divisions. In 2003, he finished fourth after a tense four-man battle came down to the last lap at Homestead.

Gaughan says that the two-truck runaway in 2006 is a fluke.

"I don't think there has been a need for it yet," Gaughan said. "If you look at the history of the Craftsman Truck Series, there have maybe been one or two championships out of 11 that didn't come down to somebody in the last race.

"In 2003, we had a four-way battle for the championship. I don't think there is a need for it. [Series director] Wayne Auton does a great job keeping the competition where we battle it out."

Travis Kvapil, who won only one race all season, went on to win the Craftsman Truck Series title in 2003 by a mere nine points. He isn't sure if the Truck Series should adopt a playoff, but he is adamant that the series can't simply copy the 10-race, 10-driver template currently used in the Nextel Cup Series.

"The champion should be the best guy all year long, all 25 or 35 races, whatever the series is," Kvapil said. "If they did [use it in the Truck Series], it couldn't be the same format. Maybe a five-race Chase with five guys.

"The 10th guy in Truck Series points is not like the 10th-place guy in Cup. The spread of the field is quite a bit bigger. I wouldn't say, no, don't do it, but you'd have to modify it and narrow it down. I am more of a traditionalist."

Still, a Chase-style format has its backers in the Craftsman Truck Series garage.

	Travis Kvapil won the closest Truck Series title in history in 2003. Credit: Autostock
	GOOD TO THE LAST LAP •   2003 Final Standings

David Starr, a veteran of 161 Truck Series starts, says a playoff would inject new life into the 13-year-old circuit.

"I'd like to see it. I don't know if it is possible, but yes, I'd like to see it," Starr said. "I'd like to see it to give it a different flavor. In Chase mode, 5-10 people going for it.

"We don't have a clue who is going to win the Chase for the Cup until it comes down to the last race. You'd see that in the Truck Series, so I am all for it."

Like Starr, Truck Series regular Bobby Hamilton Jr. was impressed at how last week's event at Martinsville tightened the points in the Nextel Cup Series.

"It has brought drama to everything," Hamilton said. "Last week, I said, 'Jimmie Johnson ain't got a shot in hell of winning this thing.'

"Make it a bulldog fight. It works. If NASCAR did it with every series, it would build it up like it did in the Cup Series."

Hamilton said that a 10-truck playoff format is a bit much. He advocates cutting that number in half.

"The worst case scenario, if NASCAR is worried about the competition of it, make it the top-five drivers," Hamilton said. "I think it would be good."