All about the Chase, when it should be about the race

These days, it's all about the Chase. Tony Stewart clinched his spot in NASCAR's postseason showdown by starting last weekend's race at Michigan, and Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson can secure their berths with finishes of sixth and second, respectively, Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway. Brian Vickers is charging. Juan Montoya is coasting. Mark Martin is hanging on, and Kyle Busch is running out of time. With only three races remaining until the championship field is determined, the jostling for position has begun in earnest. For all its spectacle and grandeur, Bristol is but one part of a much bigger picture.

Despite its flaws, there's no question the Chase has been a good thing for NASCAR. Without it, Stewart would hold a nearly insurmountable 284-point lead in the standings, and the only thing louder than the roar of Sprint Cup engines would be the click of televisions turning off from coast to coast.

Now, Bristol is once again a lock-solid sellout, Atlanta has hope of a good crowd in two weeks, and TV ratings for last Sunday's Michigan race were up over a year ago. Despite Stewart's perceived invincibility, a real sense of unpredictability hangs over this season's Chase. And then there's the knowledge that since the dawn of the Chase era, only one regular-season leader -- Stewart in 2005 -- has ever managed to finish the job.

So given the prolonged drama of who will get in and who will get knocked out, there's clearly a reason to tune in during the next several weeks. The Chase is doing its job, providing NASCAR with a wave of momentum it will need to attract attention from the casual sports crowd now that football training camps are in full swing.

In many ways this championship format dominates the season from the first lap at Daytona until the final circuit at Homestead, giving every fully sponsored team the same goal to aim for, providing the diving line that separates a successful campaign from a disappointing one. It casts a shadow so large that it obscures everything else -- including who wins an individual race.

No question, the Chase has issues. The fact that Martin is the series leader in race wins yet sits just 12 points out of racing for 13th comes across as ludicrous. The fact that Stewart is going to lose every bit of his substantial points advantage -- if the Chase began today, he'd start 10 behind Martin -- comes across as unfair. The fact that Montoya has been giving up opportunities to win races, content to finish in the top 10 and strengthen his postseason position, comes across as backward. (Continued)