OPINION

By Matt Crossman

updated 12:48 p.m. ET Sept. 25, 2007

I imagine that one night in late 2003 or early 2004, NASCAR chairman Brian France went on a late-night bender of tequila and jalapeno guacamole. He fell into a deep sleep and was visited by strange visions and hallucinations. Out of those fevered, crazy dreams was born a revolution for the sport, and four years in, I have to say: Pass the Cuervo, buddy boy, the Chase for the NASCAR Nextel Cup works.

I have to admit, in the very early going, I thought France had maybe swallowed the worm one too many times. But as a wise man once said, the most annoying non-drunk is a former drunk, I’m totally on the Chase bandwagon now.

In 2004, the run-up to the Chase and the Chase itself were remarkably tense. The race at Richmond that Jeremy Mayfield won to get in and the race in Miami after which Kurt Busch was crowned the champion were the two most remarkable sporting events I’ve ever been to. In Miami, the event was such a see-saw that I completely wrote three magazine stories (Busch wins, Jeff Gordon wins, Jimmie Johnson wins) because my deadline was extremely tight and the points kept changing.

But critics weren’t convinced then and they still aren’t convinced that this Chase deal is worth it. I do a lot of radio, and I’m still asked on a weekly basis whether I like the Chase.

After Sunday’s race, the second of 10, how could anyone not like it? I mean, anyone who isn’t an “I hate everything” grump? Four drivers are within four points of the lead. Those four drivers include Jeff Gordon (first) and Tony Stewart (second), the two best drivers of the decade. Jimmie Johnson (fourth) one day might force me to call them the three best drivers of the decade, and Carl Edwards (third) is merely a strong finish from the greatest season in the history of the sport.

Edwards will win the Busch championship, and he has a legit chance to win the Nextel Cup, too, which would be an unprecedented accomplishment.

I think the rest of this Chase is going to be, to use a technical racing term, nutso. The race at Kansas Speedway might be “normal,” but Talladega is going to make the second half of Dover look like a day at the library. Restrictor plate races have gotten whacko enough lately. Throw in the uncertainty of the Car of Tomorrow and the tension of the Chase, and who knows what could happen.

Chase for the Cup final standings Driver Points Behind 1. Jimmie Johnson 6,723 -- 2. Jeff Gordon 6,646 77 3. Clint Bowyer 6,377 346 4. Matt Kenseth 6,298 425 5. Kyle Busch 6,293 430 6. Tony Stewart 6,242 481 7. Kurt Busch 6,231 492 7. Jeff Burton 6,231 492 9. Carl Edwards 6,222 501 10. Kevin Harvick 6,199 524 11. Martin Truex Jr. 6,164 559 12. Denny Hamlin 6,143 580 Standings final as of Nov. 18

Speaking of who knows what could happen, NASCAR might tweak the Chase again next year, considering Dale Earnhardt Jr. missed it again. (They don’t need another reason.) I’ve said and still say that the changes this year—having 12 drivers and seeding them by wins—are totally lame. Maybe France forgot the jalapeno on his guacamole when he came up with those ideas, but those complaints are picking nits.

A lot of old school fans can’t stand the Chase because they think it’s a silly contrivance. Well, you know what? So was the old way of crowning the champion, and worse than being contrived, the old way was also as boring as a Matt Kenseth interview. There’s no larger truth that says a champion has to have scored the most points over the entire season any more than there’s a larger truth that a football season has to end in a playoff.

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But that’s an old argument. The new argument is: Who’s going to win the Chase this year? I’ve said Gordon all along, and I’m sticking with that. If you just count the 23 races in which he has points raced, and throw out the five races in which he solely went for wins, Gordon has 21 finishes of 12^th or better. If he finishes 12^th or better in every race, I guarantee he’ll win it. You don’t win the Chase by winning a bunch of races and hitting the fence in the rest. You win it by being consistent. And certainly by laying off the tequila and guacamole.

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