Weekend That Was: RIR (cont'd)

That's how Kenseth, who had been in the top five in points since winning for the only time when he captured the second event of the season at California, ended up seeded eighth. He has fewer wins than Johnson, Gordon, Stewart (three), Edwards and Kurt Busch (two each), and fewer top finishes than Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr., who also have one win each and are seeded right in front of him in sixth and seventh, respectively (more on all this nonsense later).

Despite being seeded lower, it really doesn't matter. Kenseth essentially is tied with Hamlin and Truex going into the Chase. Each has 5,010 points -- or 50 fewer than the leader in Johnson.

Kenseth admitted that Johnson comes in with the most momentum and that by capturing the last two regular-season races has positioned himself well atop the standings. But he also correctly pointed out that the 50-point edge currently enjoyed by Johnson is miniscule at best.

"Every little bit helps," he said "But it's only 50 points. That's what it used to be from first to 10th going into the Chase, anyway. Fifty points in 10 races is not something you can't overcome, but certainly when you give the guys on the biggest roll right now and probably the best team a 50-point headstart, that's tough to gain on unless they have problems."

No dark horse

Strangely, Kenseth forgot to mention Edwards, his Roush Fenway Racing teammate, when handicapping the Chase. Edwards is seeded fourth and despite the tough finish at Richmond truly appears to be brimming with the confidence required to pull off a championship.

Gordon certainly has noticed it, and corrected a reporter who asked if he thought Edwards was a dark-horse candidate to chase down the title.

"I don't consider him a dark horse at all," Gordon said. "I consider him one of the favorites."

New math

Much of the post-Richmond talk centered on how Gordon, who has been the points leader virtually all season, now must begin the Chase as the second seed -- 20 points behind Johnson because he has two fewer wins.

This already has been kicked around by many minds great and small, but shouldn't the points leader get something for finishing the regular season atop the standings? Furthermore, if NASCAR really wants to keep seeding these guys according to who did the best over the first 26 races, it's ridiculous that Truex, who had far fewer top-five and top-10 finishes than Kenseth overall, jumps ahead in the seeding just because he had one more third-place finish (they both finished second twice, but Truex also finished third twice to only once for Kenseth -- which constitutes the current tiebreaker NASCAR uses).

Why not try this? Keep the 10-point bonuses in place for victories, but at the end of 26 races re-set the points by starting the Chasers with a base of 5,000 as now and giving the leader an additional 60 points, whomever is second in points 55, third 50, and so on through to 12th, who would get only five.

If that format would have been used this year, Gordon would remain the No. 1 seed heading into the Chase with 5,100 points. Johnson would still be rewarded for having the most wins by jumping to the No. 2 seed just five points behind Gordon at 5,095 (60 for the six wins plus 35 for placing sixth in regular-season points).

The rest of the Chase under that format would be as follows: 3. Stewart (5,085); 4. Edwards (5,065); 5. Hamlin (5,060); 6. Kenseth (5,050); 7. Jeff Burton (5,040); 8. Kurt Busch (5,035 but two wins); 9. Kyle Busch (5,035 and one win); 10. Truex (5,020 and one win); 11. Bowyer (5,020 but no wins); 12. Kevin Harvick (5,015 and one win).

Harvick, in 12th, would be 85 points out of first -- still well within striking distance over 10 playoff races but with the points leader and those who performed more consistently over the entire course of the season at least being rewarded a bit more for it. Plus, actually winning the races would remain a top priority. (Continued)