DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- If you hate the Chase, it's not going away. If you love the Chase, expect some "dramatic" changes, according to NASCAR chairman Brian France.

In a question and answer session with the media Friday at Daytona International Speedway, France said there are "high-impact changes to the Chase" that could be made in time for the 2011 season, but he declined to discuss specifics.

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What we're talking about is enhancing [the Chase] in a way that will bring out more of the winning moments, the big moments that happen in sports. And if there's a way we can do that, and there are a couple of ways, we're going to give that a lot of weight.

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-- BRIAN FRANCE

"We like the Chase format," France said. "We've always liked it. But I can't tell you exactly what because there's a number of things that we are looking. So we haven't made a decision.

"... What we're talking about is enhancing it in a way that will bring out more of the winning moments, the big moments that happen in sports. And if there's a way we can do that, and there are a couple of ways, we're going to give that a lot of weight."

France reiterated that the idea behind the Chase -- which was put into effect beginning with the 2004 season -- remains sound, because it gives NASCAR's premier series a unique way of crowning its champion.

"We like a playoff-style format, for sure," France said. "It distinguishes us in motorsports, No. 1. It distinguishes our national divisions, No. 2. And No. 3, the big design is to have playoff-type moments that only can be, in any sport, created when there's a lot on the line at any one moment."

France compared NASCAR's Chase with the wildly-successful NCAA Division I basketball tournament. Rumors of major changes to the 65-team format turned out to be unfounded.

"A lot of things were discussed on their end," France said. "They ended up doing something that they thought worked for them, which was a lot less than they had originally considered.

"We're no different than that. We're looking at that. It's their tournament, it's our Chase. So we'll look at what we think can make the biggest impact, managing the unintended consequences and the integrity of the format itself."

The biggest issue with tweaking the Chase, France said, is that unlike most major sports, NASCAR doesn't lend itself well to a knockout playoff format.

"There's a continuity issue because there's 43 teams," France said. "Nobody can win a winner-take-all scenario. And we have to balance the body of what you've done as a driver across the board. So continuity will always be a factor in our playoff-style format."

France also touched on several other issues, including the idea of modifying the Nationwide Series rules and regulations to limit the amount of influence that Cup drivers and teams have in what he still believes should be NASCAR's developmental series. (Continued)