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Chase for the Sprint Cup

The Chase for the Sprint Cup, originally known as "The Chase for the Championship" during its creation, and then "The Chase for the Nextel Cup" (from 2004 to 2007) is the championship system used in NASCAR's top division, the Sprint Cup Series. The Chase was announced on January 21, 2004, and first used during the 2004 Nextel Cup Series. The format used from 2004 to 2006 was modified slightly for the 2007 season. The 10 race Chase pits the 12 drivers with the highest "regular season" points against each other, while racing in the standard field of 43 cars. Beginning with the 2008 Sprint Cup Series, the Chase will be known by its new name as a result of the merger of Nextel Communications with Sprint Corporation. The driver with the most points after the final 10 races is declared the champion.

Sprint Cup Champions (under Chase system)

Seeding and Scoring

The current version of the Chase was announced by NASCAR chairman and CEO Brian France on January 22, 2007. The current format modifies the existing format announced on January 21, 2004, and is the 12th time since 1949 that the point system has been changed.

After 26 "regular season" races, the top 12-ranked drivers, as determined by points accumulated during the season, advance to contend for the Cup championship. The 12 driver's championship points are reset to a base of 5,000 points per driver, with a bonus of 10 points awarded to each driver for each win during the regular season. At the conclusion of the 10-race Chase, the driver with the highest point total is the Sprint Cup champion. During the Chase, normal scoring applies, with drivers who win a race receiving 190 points for the win, 5 bonus points for leading a single lap, and 10 points for leading the most laps.

In 2007, NASCAR expanded the field of contenders from 10 drivers to 12, and implemented a 10 point-per-win bonus. Brian France explained why NASCAR made the changes to the chase:

"The adjustments taken [Monday] put a greater emphasis on winning races. Winning is what this sport is all about. Nobody likes to see drivers content to finish in the top 10. We want our sport -- especially during the Chase -- to be more about winning."

Origins of the Chase

The publicly stated purpose for the NASCAR Chase system was to make the NASCAR mid-season more competitive, and increase fan interest and television ratings. The timing coincides with the commencement of the National Football League season. Prior to the Chase format, the Cup champion was often determined mathematically long before the end of the NASCAR season; a situation that still exists in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, which does not have a Chase system.

By resetting and compressing the scoring of top 10 drivers, the chances of each of those ten drivers winning the championship was increased, while not precluding anyone with a legitimate chance of winning (based on the historical analysis that no driver outside the top 10, with 10 races remaining in the season, has ever gone on to win the Championship).

Short track racing, the grassroots of NASCAR, began experimenting with ideas to help the entry-level racer. In 2001, the United Speed Alliance Racing organization, sanctioning body of the USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series, a short-track stock car touring series, devised a five-race system where the top teams in their Hooters ProCup North and Hooters ProCup South divisions would participate in a five-race playoff, the Four Champions, named for the four Hooters Racing staff members (including 1992 NASCAR champion Alan Kulwicki) and pilot killed in an April 1, 1993 plane crash in Blountville, Tennessee. The system organized the teams with starting points based on the team's performance in their division (division champions earn a bonus), and the teams would participate in a five-race playoff. The five races, added to the team's seeding points, would determine the winner. The 2001 version was four races, as one was canceled because of the September 11th terrorist attacks; however, NASCAR watched as the ProCup's Four Champions became a success and drivers from the series began looking at NASCAR rides. The idea was to give NASCAR, which was becoming in many areas the fourth-largest sport (after Major League Baseball, the NFL, the NBA and surpassing in some regions the NHL) attention during baseball's road to the World Series and the outset of the pro and college football, NHL and NBA seasons.

"The Matt Kenseth Rule"

The Chase has been referred to as "the Matt Kenseth Rule" as a result of Kenseth's controversial championship in the final Winston Cup in 2003, the year prior to NASCAR adopting the Chase system and Nextel becoming the namesake sponsor. In 2003, Kenseth won the then-Winston Cup series championship despite winning only one race (that being the third race of the year in Las Vegas Motor Speedway) but ending the season with 25 top-ten finishes. In contrast, Ryan Newman won eight races that year (22% of the 36 races run in 2003), but finished sixth in points. In truth, "the Matt Kenseth Rule" more properly refers to the NASCAR numerical scoring system also implemented for the 2004 season, which increased the points awarded to race winners, thus emphasizing winning in addition to consistency. NASCAR acknowledged that the 2003 championship outcome was not the driving factor in establishment of The Chase, as NASCAR had been researching methods to adjust the points system to put more emphasis on winning races since 2000. However, the coincidence of the commencement of the new format in 2004 and Kenseth's 2003 championship linked the issues, and were even referred to by NASCAR officials in the interviews and press releases following the announcement of the new format.

Chase for the Sprint Cup Tracks

The following are the ten race tracks at which the final ten Chase for the Sprint Cup races are run. Texas Motor Speedway (Fort Worth, Texas) was added in 2005 as a result of outcome of the Ferko lawsuit. Prior to this suit, the final three races of the NASCAR season, and thus, the final three race tracks for The Chase, were held at Phoenix International Raceway (Avondale, Arizona), Darlington Raceway (Darlington, South Carolina, eliminated by NASCAR as a result of the lawsuit), and Homestead-Miami Speedway (Homestead, Florida). Also, by part of a 3-way track change, Talladega Superspeedway will move to a later date, Atlanta Motor Speedway will move to an earlier date outside of the Chase, and Auto Club Speedway will move to a later date inside the Chase (starting 2009).

List of current Chase for the Sprint Cup tracks (In order of which they are raced)
New Hampshire Motor Speedway Loudon, NH	Dover International Speedway Dover, DE	Kansas Speedway Kansas City, KS	Talladega Superspeedway Talladega, AL	Lowe's Motor Speedway Concord, NC
Martinsville Speedway Martinsville, VA	Atlanta Motor Speedway Hampton, GA	Texas Motor Speedway Fort Worth, TX	Phoenix International Raceway Avondale, AZ	Homestead-Miami Speedway Homestead, FL

List of 2009 Chase for the Sprint Cup tracks (In order of which they are raced)
New Hampshire Motor Speedway Loudon, NH	Dover International Speedway Dover, DE	Kansas Speedway Kansas City, KS	Auto Club Speedway Fontana, CA	Lowe's Motor Speedway Concord, NC
Martinsville Speedway Martinsville, VA	Talladega Superspeedway Talladega, AL	Texas Motor Speedway Fort Worth, TX	Phoenix International Raceway Avondale, AZ	Homestead-Miami Speedway Homestead, FL

Comparisons of formats of The Chase

2006 Chase Contenders and Seedings in 2006 and 2007 Systems

The Chase for the Nextel Cup was created in 2004 by NASCAR when Nextel started to sponsor the series. In original version of the Chase, following the 26th race of the season, all drivers in the top 10 and any others within 400 points of the leader got a spot in the 10-race season conclusion. Like the current system, drivers in the Chase had their point totals adjusted. However, it was based on the number of points at the conclusion of the 26th race. The first-place driver in the standings led with 5,050 points; the second-place driver started with 5,045. Incremental five-point drops continued through 10th place with 5,005 points). In addition, drivers received 180 points for winning a race, 5 bonus points for leading the most laps, and 5 bonus for leading a single lap.

Old Points System - 2006 results

Place	Points	Driver
1st	5050	Matt Kenseth
2nd	5045	Jimmie Johnson
3rd	5040	Kevin Harvick
4th	5035	Kyle Busch
5th	5030	Denny Hamlin
6th	5025	Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
7th	5020	Mark Martin
8th	5015	Jeff Burton
9th	5010	Jeff Gordon
10th	5005	Kasey Kahne

Old Points System - 2006 results, using 2007 format

Place	Points	Driver	Wins
1st	5050	Kasey Kahne	5
T-2nd	5040	Matt Kenseth	4
T-2nd	5040	Jimmie Johnson	4
4th	5030	Kevin Harvick	3
T-5th	5020	Tony Stewart	2
T-5th	5020	Jeff Gordon	2
T-5th	5020	Denny Hamlin	2
T-8th	5010	Kyle Busch	1
T-8th	5010	Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	1
T-8th	5010	Greg Biffle	1
T-11th	5000	Mark Martin	0
T-11th	5000	Jeff Burton	0

The most evident shift in the Chase seeding which reflects the emphasis on winning of the 2007 format, is Kasey Kahne who, under the 2006 system entered the Chase in 10th place, with 5000 points. Had the 2007 format been in place in 2006, Kahne's 5 wins would have placed him first in the Chase seeding.

2004 through 2007 Chase Champions Under (Pre-Chase) System

A comparison of the 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 Chase results for the top three drivers, if those seasons had been run using the (Pre Chase) points format. Actual Winner in Bold. In 2004 Kurt Busch would place 4th in the overall standings, 247 points behind Jeff Gordon

2004:

Position	Driver	Old Points	Chase
1st	Jeff Gordon	5,042	3rd
2nd	Jimmie Johnson	4,995	2nd
3rd	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	4,869	5th

2005:

Position	Driver	Old Points	Chase
1st	Tony Stewart	5,199	1st
2nd	Greg Biffle	4,984	2nd
3rd	Jimmie Johnson	4,771	5th

2006:

Position	Driver	Old Points	Chase
1st	Jimmie Johnson	5,158	1st
2nd	Matt Kenseth	5,154	2nd
3rd	Kevin Harvick	4,838	4th

2007:

Position	Driver	Old Points	Chase
1st	Jeff Gordon	5,455	2nd
2nd	Jimmie Johnson	5,102	1st
3rd	Tony Stewart	4,749	6th

Driver Appearances in the Chase

As of 2007''

Green= In 2008 Chase
Bold= Retired

Rank	Driver	Times In	Best Finish
1	Jimmie Johnson	4	1st	2004
2	Matt Kenseth	4	2nd	2004
3	Kurt Busch	3	1st	2004
4	Tony Stewart	3	1st	2004
5	Jeff Gordon	3	3rd	2004
6	Mark Martin	3	4th	2004
7	Carl Edwards	2	3rd	2005
8	Denny Hamlin	2	3rd	2006
9	Kevin Harvick	2	4th	2006
10	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	2	5th	2004
11	Kyle Busch	2	5th	2006
12	Ryan Newman	2	6th	2004
13	Jeff Burton	2	7th	2006
14	Jeremy Mayfield	2	9th	2004
15	Greg Biffle	1	2nd	2005
16	Rusty Wallace	1	3rd	2005
17	Clint Bowyer	1	3rd	2007
18	Kasey Kahne	1	8th	2006
19	Elliot Sadler	1	9th	2004
20	Martin Truex Jr.	1	11th	2007