Chase For The Sprint Cup - Criticism

Criticism

The Chase format has taken some criticism. First, many are upset that the driver leading the points before the re-adjustment often loses the points lead with the most recent format. Some would like to see the "regular season champion" get some kind of reward. Also, many have criticized the tracks of which the Chase is held, most notably the fact that four of the ten races are held at intermediate (1.5 mile) tracks, yet no races are held at the road courses of Infineon and Watkins Glen. Some also criticize the inclusion of Talladega in the chase; as a restrictor plate track, Talladega is too unpredictable and too dangerous for inclusion in the chase. Others have noted that the current races (with a couple exceptions due to NASCAR Realignment and a lawsuit) only got Chase races as they were the ten races at the end of the schedule when the format was adopted (the original format had two classic races, Atlanta in the fall and the prestigious fourth major, the Mountain Dew Southern 500, moved to November, instead of new races in Fontana and Texas as currently on the schedule). Another criticism was that most of the tracks were the tracks that Jimmie Johnson had the best finishing record (even though Johnson was only a third-year driver when the Chase began, of Johnson's Chase wins, he has won nine different Chase races since the Chase began – Dover, Kansas, Fontana, Charlotte, Martinsville, Texas, Phoenix, and former Chase races in Atlanta and Darlington), thus giving Johnson an unfair advantage. Critics would like to see the races rotate year-to-year, similar to the Super Bowl venue.