Jeff Gordon fell to 12th in points after Daytona. Credit: Autostock

Cross' Words: Daytona

Guest columnist Kimm: NASCAR needs Gordon to make the Chase

While I'm still enjoying R&R and state baseball playoffs, Bill Kimm, morning show host on Sports Talk 790 The Ball in High Point, N.C., is serving as Ricky Rudd to my Tony Stewart with today's commentary ...

NASCAR fans, we need Jeff Gordon to succeed. Love him or hate him, he is the face of NASCAR -- and the sport will do what it takes to ensure that he matters in November.

Official Results Pepsi 400 Pos. Driver Make 1. T. Stewart Chevrolet 2. Ky. Busch Chevrolet 3. Ku. Busch Dodge 4. B. Said Ford 5. E. Sadler Ford 6. M. Kenseth Ford 7. C. Mears Dodge 8. J. McMurray Ford 9. K. Harvick Chevrolet 10. C. Bowyer Chevrolet • Complete results, click here • Official standings, click here Victory LaneTony Stewart celebrates after winning the Pepsi 400! Final lapsThe Pepsi 400 at Daytona ends in a three-lap shootout Lowe's turns highJimmie Johnson gets loose and collects Bobby Labonte Late-race wreckJ. Gordon gets the worst of a late-race pileup at Daytona Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

Yes, Kasey Kahne has the looks. Yes, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has the pedigree. And yes, Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart have the wins. Even Denny Hamlin looks pretty good after finding Victory Lane earlier this year.

But Gordon remains numero uno when it comes to the sport. Any doubt, just look at how much of him we saw during Saturday night's race.

Sure, he was sponsored by Pepsi (and, after all, this was the Pepsi 400), but it goes beyond that. When the No. 24 was taken out of the race in the closing laps, a victim of the Greg Biffle-J.J. Yeley carnage, more than 100,000 people stood and applauded.

No other driver has that kind of pull -- not Smoke, not Kyle Busch or even Kurt Busch. No one -- and that's why NASCAR loves Gordon and needs him.

And you should love Gordon right now, too. Unless you are OK with Brian France altering the Chase to make it easier for someone like Gordon to get in.

France announced on Friday that some changes would be coming to the Chase for the Nextel Cup, though he didn't tell us what they would be. But know this: Any changes will be to guarantee the sport doesn't see a repeat of 2005, when Gordon and Junior were bystanders during the "playoffs."

Nothing is wrong with the Chase and 10 drivers are plenty. If NASCAR really feels the need to make it more exciting, then have all 10 drivers start at zero points.

Every other sport makes playoff teams start over, so why should NASCAR be any different? Start them all at the same level and see what happens.

NASCAR also should give more points for a win, both in the regular season and the Chase.

Nine races remain until the Chase, ladies and gentlemen, and if you do not want the sport to make any drastic changes, I suggest you root for the No. 24 to get into the top 10. I know it pains you, but it's for the betterment of NASCAR.

Say Anything

"What I've always said about the Chase was that we needed a few years under our belt to see how it evolved, to change the strategy, see how the actual formula that we have, see how it really works, and now we're in our third year, starting to get that sense, and my view is, we will make some adjustments going into 2007. It's a natural time to do that. A) As I just said, we'll have three years under our belt to judge it. And B), we have a new television partner in ABC and ESPN coming on board who will televise the final 10 [races] live on network television, matter of fact, including Richmond. So the ideal time for us to make adjustments, not major changes, but adjustments, will be in the offseason this year."
-- NASCAR chairman Brian France

Figuratively Speaking

3 -- For three different reasons:

• Drivers ranked in the top 10 in points after Race No. 17 in 2005 who failed to make the Chase. Elliott Sadler was fourth and finished 13th, Jamie McMurray was seventh and finished 12th and Dale Jarrett was 10th and finished 15th.

• Jimmie Johnson now leads Matt Kenseth by only eight points, marking the tightest points race in 10 years through 17 races. In 1997, Terry Labonte led eventual Cup champion Jeff Gordon by three points.

• This season also marks the third consecutive year in which Johnson has led the point standings through 17 races. Maybe third time is the charm; he failed to win the title in 2004 and '05.

Fast Facts

• Tony Stewart has nine top-10 finishes in the past nine restrictor-plate races, including six consecutive top-fives. He also has six top-10s in the past six races at Daytona.

• Penske revival? Kurt Busch's third-place finish at Daytona was his fourth consecutive top-10, while teammate Ryan Newman finished 11th to extend a streak of five top-15 finishes in a row.

• Jimmie Johnson has been ranked among the top 10 in points for 86 consecutive races, tying Darrell Waltrip for eighth place since the current point system was established in 1975.

Up Next

Chicagoland Speedway | 3 p.m. ET Sunday | TNT

Check out TNT's race coverage (http://www.nascar.com/promos/2006/tnt/)

CHICAGOLAND • Travel Deals

• None of the five races at Chicago have been won from a top-five starting position, and three races have been won from a starting position outside the top 10.

• Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson have four consecutive top-five finishes at Chicago, tied for the longest current streak. Johnson holds the edge in average finish -- 3.0 to 8.8 -- but Stewart has one victory.

• Four drivers in the top 10 -- Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin, Jeff Burton and Kevin Harvick -- have been running at the finish in every race. Kasey Kahne (two) and Tony Stewart (three) are the only top-10 drivers with more than one DNF.

Mailbag

E-MAIL •   Send Duane your thoughts ...

Here's your chance to be NASCAR Czar for day, at least here in Pollyanna: What is the biggest change you would make to the sport?

E-mail your thoughts and don't worry about the "Out of Office" reply; the inbox will be there when I return July 10.

Fantasy Perspective

Two, four, six, eight -- that's who we appreciate:

• Second-place Matt Kenseth ... has competed in all five races at Chicagoland with two top-10 finishes ... finished second last year and led a race-high 176 laps ... has a 9.4 finishing average at the track.

• Fourth-place Kasey Kahne ... has competed in two races at Chicago, finishing 36th and 41st -- both DNFs -- for a 38.5 average finish.

• Sixth-place Mark Martin ... has competed in all five races at Chicagoland with three top-10 finishes ... has a 12.6 average finish at the track despite not finishing on the lead lap in two races (2003 and 2004).

• Eighth-place Kyle Busch ... finished 14th last year in his first start at Chicago.

OK, so I sloughed off my responsibilities last week and did not file a column for the first time in two years. Thanks for the e-mails that inquired about when I'd be back, and if you didn't notice there wasn't a piece last week, well you didn't miss anything.

Last week's Fantasy Racing -- the Sonoma race -- was a lot like this week's: Yours truly picked the winner and won the weekend points tally (narrowly beating 790 The Ball listener Jessie B., 24 points to 21).

And Finally ...

EA SPORTS' NASCAR 07 features Elliott Sadler on the cover. ... Most everyone knows about the perceived "Madden Jinx" that holds sway over the game-maker's popular NFL franchise, but consider:

• 2006 -- Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson
• 2005 -- Kevin Harvick
• 2004 -- Tony Stewart
• 2003 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr.
• 2002 -- Jeff Gordon
• 2001 -- Tony Stewart and Jeff Burton
• 2000 -- Dale Earnhardt, Terry Labonte and Mark Martin
• 1999 -- Dale Earnhardt, Mark Martin
• 1998 -- Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, Bobby Labonte

Only Gordon -- in 1998 -- won the Cup during his reign as EA's coverboy.

The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.