Chase no more a perfect 10 but most things not perfect

I wasn't surprised when NASCAR announced it was expanding the Chase for the Nextel Cup to the top-12 drivers, but I was a little disappointed when I first heard the rumblings that it was going to happen.

People like being in the Top 10. It is something to shoot for, a small package of prestige, you and just nine others. That's it. When we talk about college football it is always, "here is a look at where the top-10 teams in the nation are playing this week." David Letterman has his Top Ten List; would it be as good if it were the Top Twelve? Each week the national television rankings talk about the top-10 shows, and USA Today will tell you about the top-10 restaurants or the top-10 resorts to visit before the summer ends. That doesn't mean number 11 is a shack on the coast somewhere, it just means it didn't make the Top 10.

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NASCAR wanted to add more names to the list of potential champions for the Chase for the Nextel Cup which, by the way, is 10 races. I can understand that, more drivers, more chances, maybe more excitement. Hey, I hope it works out that way. The point system is different; some of the drivers are different. Good luck with the Chase. I know I'll be watching. But, right now, I'm also pretty sure whom I'll be watching.

Certainly one of the thoughts behind expanding the Chase to 10 plus 2 was that there would be a crush for the 12th spot, maybe five or six guys would be in contention going to California. Then on to Richmond where maybe four guys would battle it out for the final spot. That could happen. But with the lead 12th-place Kurt Busch has on 13th-place Dale Earnhardt Jr. and 14th-place Ryan Newman, the chances of a challenge at Richmond are slim.

But, if the Chase was only the top-10 drivers in the championship standings, well, then we might have something to watch. Tenth-place Kevin Harvick would be pacing back and forth in his motorcoach all night. He would be one point ahead of Martin Truex Jr. and just nine points ahead of Busch. The 100-point penalty Busch received at Dover (he got off easy) would be rattling around in his head more than it already is. Even ninth-place Clint Bowyer would have an eye on his rearview mirror. And the Junior Nation "We Ain't the 8 No More" garage sale would be in high gear.

I love to look at statistics, meaningful statistics, not some computer generated hocus-pocus designed to generate excitement in a newspaper column somewhere, but true numbers from real events. For example, in 2006, Harvick finished 15th at California, Kurt Busch was eighth; in 2005, Harvick finished 14th at California, Busch was 12th. You can do the math. What happened in 2004? Harvick finished 28th, and Kurt Busch came home 11th. Oh boy. It's just for conversational purposes but if only the top-10 drivers in the championship standings were going to make the Chase, well, then we would be talking Harvick, Truex, Busch and penalties. There might actually be some excitement at Cali-bore-nia.

I love watching baseball teams trying to claim that wild-card position the last month of the season. I love the final weeks of the NFL season when 29 teams still have a mathematical chance to earn the final playoff berth if the Bears lose, the Giants win, the Cowboys and Redskins play to a 29-29 tie and the Saints score more than 46 points in any even-numbered quarter. That is the kind of stuff that wears out the TV remote. (Continued)