Johnson continues to make mockery of Chase system

You knew it was going to happen -- sooner, rather than later. It's been talked about, written about, publicly criticized and slammed behind closed doors. And now that Jimmie Johnson has a 183-point lead, let's openly address the elephant in the room: The much-ballyhooed Chase system is flawed.

Much like the alcoholic uncle no one wants to discuss but who nonetheless shows up during the holidays and you're forced to deal with him, the Chase system -- even before the 2007 changes -- was wobbly, at best, and now it's fallen down the front steps just as the preacher was coming for Sunday dinner.

Who didn't see this coming; separate point systems for the regular season and the playoffs is not a good idea. It never was, and hopefully those with their heads buried in the sand will realize this. Hopefully NASCAR will address the problem. Racing does not need gimmicks, especially not during the most important stretch of the season.

So, Mr. Know-It-All, how do you propose the point system work?

• Race winner receives 43 points, second place gets 42, third place 41, etc.

• No bonus points -- for leading a lap, leading the most laps, or for victories in regards to Chase seeding.

• Leash the Lucky Dog. It's racing; free passes are available for the carnival.

• After the first 26 races ... everyone continues racing for the championship.

This system rewards consistency during the course of a 36-race season, and the buzz would be about the racing instead of how one team has made a mockery of the playoff system.

Sometimes simple works best. In this case, a simple point system would be the best solution for a sport that deserves an exciting climax.

Let the stick and ball sports have their playoffs. NASCAR fans have shown that they do not need "postseason" drama, they do not need a reason to get excited about their sport, they do not need to be trivialized.

It's time to chase the Chase -- right down the backstretch and through the Turn 4 tunnel. C'mon NASCAR, take Da Mayor's advice: Do the right thing.

Blog: NASCAR Says ... Johnson's historic run should be lauded

Bump-and-run thoughts after Atlanta ...

Winner

• Jimmie Johnson now has more than a one-race lead in points; the most any driver can make up in one race is 161 points (156, if he doesn't lead the most laps).

So good for Carl Edwards -- he won the battle but lost the war. On average he'll have to beat Johnson by more than 14 positions at Texas, Phoenix and Homestead to have a snowball's chance at winning the championship.

And no, stranger things have not happened.

Loser

• Any Chaser not named Jimmie Johnson. Imagine how much fun it's going to be for the next month as these drivers put on their Media Face and recite "it's not over." Fact is, this thing has been over since Sept. 28, when Johnson took the points lead after winning at Kansas.

Homestead is the loser in this year's Chase. We can only hope that Johnson has a 162-point lead entering Championship Weekend. How great would it be for Johnson to take the green flag, turn hard into the infield grass and begin his victory celebration 266 laps before the checkered flag?

Lucky Dog

• Dale Earnhardt Jr. is six points ahead of 11th-place Denny Hamlin for the all-important final seat on the main stage at the year-end awards banquet in New York. Hey, if a week of sightseeing in the Big Apple isn't enough to make you want to dig a little harder for one more position on the track, what is?

At least the top 10 can get some Christmas shopping out of the way; probably won't be as recognized at FAO Schwarz as they might be at Concord Mills ...

Who's hot

• Casey Mears just missed a top-10 finish at Atlanta, and his 12th-place run was his fifth top-15 showing in seven Chase races. This shouldn't be a surprise; Mears did well during the final 10 races last year.

However, taken as a whole, Mears' 2008 season will be easy to forget. In his sixth season, Mears' numbers more closely resemble his rookie year rather than a guy who should be entering his prime -- especially considering he drives for Hendrick Motorsports. Well, maybe through Phoenix ...

Mears will drive the No. 07 for Richard Childress Racing next year and may get a head start, driving a fourth RCR car at Homestead while Mark Martin takes over the No. 5 for Hendrick.

Who's not

• During a Chase wrought with woulda, coulda, shoulda, Kyle Busch remains mired in 12th place despite a fifth-place finish at Atlanta. Four times in seven playoff races he has finished off the lead lap. That happened only four times in the first 26 races.

In case you missed it ...

Date	Track	Time	TV
Sept. 14	Loudon	1 p.m.	ABC
Sept. 21	Dover	1 p.m.	ABC
Sept. 28	Kansas	1 p.m.	ABC
Oct. 5	Talladega	1 p.m.	ABC
Oct. 11	Charlotte	7 p.m.	ABC
Oct. 19	Martinsville	1 p.m.	ABC
Oct. 26	Atlanta	1 p.m.	ABC
Nov. 2	Texas	3 p.m.	ABC
Nov. 9	Phoenix	3 p.m.	ABC
Nov. 16	Homestead	3 p.m.	ABC

All times ET

• Kurt Busch's sixth-place run was his second top-10 finish in the past three races.

• Jamie McMurray's seventh-place run was his second top-10 finish in the past three races.

• David Ragan's eighth-place run was his fourth top-10 finish in the past five races.

• A.J. Allmendinger has back-to-back top-15s driving for Gillett-Evernham.

• Martin Truex Jr. has three consecutive top-15 finishes.

Moving on to Texas

• Wonder which driver has the best average finish at Texas? ... Hmm, it's Jimmie Johnson (one win, five top-five finishes and eight top-10s with an 8.5 average finish in 10 starts).

• Texas is feast or famine for Carl Edwards: two wins in seven starts with an average finish of 21.6 in the other five races, including one DNF. Edwards and Jeff Burton lead active drivers with two wins at TMS.

• Expect Joe Gibbs Racing to be strong at Texas. Denny Hamlin has five top-10 finishes in six starts; Tony Stewart has a win among eight to-10s in 13 starts; and Kyle Busch has three top-fives in the past four races at the track, including a career-best third-place finish in April.

• Don't expect Greg Biffle to be two-steppin' next weekend. He has two top-10 finishes, including a win, in nine starts but the ledger also features four DNFs and a 26.1 average finish, worst among the 12 Chase drivers.

• Texas is one of two tracks at which Jeff Gordon is winless: 0-for-15 at TMS and 0-for-9 at Homestead. You'll hear a lot about Gordon's struggles at Texas, but win a bar bet with this: Texas is the only track at which Jeff Gordon has finished 43rd -- and he's done it twice: March 28, 1999, and April 6, 2008.

(But those aren't the only two races in which he finished last: 34th at North Wilkesboro on April 18, 1993; 34th at North Wilkesboro on Oct. 3, 1993; 42nd at Atlanta on March 9, 1997.)

Lasting Image

Jerry Markland/Getty Images

Carl Edwards backflips off his car after winning at Atlanta, his seventh victory of the year.

The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.