No, they really don't. And when they do, it's because they're paying attention to their fans, and adjusting to ensure the fans are getting the best entertainment that NASCAR can safely provide.

Fans didn't want to see what's going on in the Nationwide Series right now, where Brad Keselowski all but has the Championship wrapped up...and there's still 10 races left. I mean, what's the point in even watching the races if the Champion has already been crowned?

The Chase format is good. It still needs tweaked, IMO, but it's good. What happens is, when there's 10 races left (Right now), NASCAR resets the points for the top 12 to 5000. They ALL start with 5000. Then, each driver gets 10 bonus points credit for each win they have, and then you get the final seeding. It makes WINNING a valuable thing to do. If winning a race didn't get you 10 bonus points, Saturday Night's race would have sucked serious donkey balls, because everyone would have just been "playing it safe" in order to have a good points night and ensure they remained locked in the Chase. But winning was important, so you had some really gusty racing going on.

NASCAR actually listens to its fans, and makes sensible changes that the fans desire. Other sports could take note.

I'd rather they just updated the traditional format to reward winning by giving race winners more bonus points.

If they did have to have a "more exciting" format, make the final race an Elite 8 driver playoff. Seed the drivers and treat it like one on one playoffs. So lets say its Hamlin vs Gordon and the race finished with Hamlin 30th and Gordon 27th, Gordon would advance.

You need to put a lot more thought into that, and thank God you aren't running NASCAR.

Advance to what? You just said the final race is the "playoff". So there's nothing to advance to. That's a terrible idea.

The Chase prevents a driver or even a couple drivers from running away from the field in points, rendering the final few races completely irrelevant to other drivers and the fans as well. NASCAR has to compete with every other major sport, and the only way to do that was to come up with some kind of playoff format to make the final 10 races of the season meaningful and exciting to fans and drivers alike. The current system isn't perfect, but it's absolutely a step in the right direction, and the drivers and MOST fans like it.

A suggestion that I'd have would be that prior to the Richmond race (the final race on the circuit prior to the Chase), you have the top 10 drivers locked in. The next two spots (number 11 and 12) are open to the next 5 drivers (ranked 11th through 15th). Of the drivers ranked 11th through 15th heading into that Richmond race, the two who finish the best of those 5 get into the Chase. Kind of like the equivalent of having two Wild card spots, similar to the NFL. That would make the Richmond race even more exciting, to me anyway.

But the Chase has to remain. It's good for NASCAR.

NASCAR pretty much sucks now

To each their own. I firmly disagree. I happen to believe NASCAR is as good as it's ever been.

This year's Chase looks like it's going to be the most exciting in NASCAR and Chase history. Look at the rock-solid group of Drivers going for the Title, all of whom have a very strong chance of winning:

#48: 4 time and current Champion, seeded 2nd, and still a dominant force
#11: 6 wins this season, and on a roll
#29: Points leader almost all season, and almost always finds himself in the top ten at the end of the race
#33: Who has more momentum than Bowyer? He really has a shot at this thing
#18: Hate the kid, but you can't deny his talent and ability to take this thing down
#24: The veteran of all the Chase drivers, and although winless, this team CAN still win some races and take his 5th Title
#99: He's been under the radar, but has really put together a solid 2nd half of the season and is poised to break out at any time...and if that time is now, the Field better watch out

I'm sorry, but if you don't think NASCAR is at its finest point in a long time, then you're just not watching the races closely. The racing is solid, they've done away with telling the drivers they can't touch each other on the track, there's solid rivalries, and there is absolutely no clear-cut favorite going into the last segment of races. It's exciting, it's fun, and if one can't see that then you're impossible to please and may not really be a true race fan, quite frankly.

As much as I hated Earnhardt, NASCAR has been on a steady decline since he died. It was seemingly going downhill before he died but since it has gone downhill quick.

I hated the chase at first, but it's grown on me.

I still get this feeling Jimmie will still win though. He owns the chase, and this down year bullshit I'm not buying.

So driver x wins 10 races but finishes on average say 25th in the remaining races and is #1 seed over someone who never finishes lower than the 14th yet only wins 3 races... yeah thats fair.

Why? How? I mean, his role as Villain was great for the sport, but others have moved into that role just fine. Kyle Busch, for all the hate he gets (much of it from me), drives a HECK of a lot like Senior.

I'm sorry. The racing is just better now than it was then. Back then you had maybe 5 drivers that were really in it each and every race: Jarrett, Senior, Wallace, Petty, Labonte, Waltrip, and well that's about it. Now? You've got an easy field of 10 drivers each week that has every bit as much chance to win that race as the next guy. And now that NASCAR has made the smart move to go "hands off" the drivers and let them beat and bang more and police their own more like they used to, it's only gotten better.

I watched NASCAR "back in the day", and it was great back then. There's been some issues since then and I think NASCAR has done a great job of keeping up with trends and fan desires, and has adjusted very well to keep racing exciting and real.

I just can't buy what you're selling right now. NASCAR is as good as its ever been if you just watch.

I'll turn it on every now and then to see where my drivers are at, but I really don't see anything fun about it at all.

Absolutely! If driver "x" wins 10 races in a season, that driver doesn't deserve the #1 seed? Really? That's hogwash.

Furthermore, there's no driver in NASCAR that goes a season without finishing worse than 14th. You're really reaching on your "argument".

If there's no emphasis and bonus given to winning races, all you will have out there are drivers who are comfortable just getting top 10's and top 5's and the occasional win. What good is that for the sport. Would that make racing MORE exciting for you? Ugh. You can have that garbage. Give me a format where drivers are out there busting their asses for those precious wins each and every week, and sometimes having a DNF or 30th place finish because they're going balls to the wall trying. That's what I want to see.

There have been a bunch of things I thought were bad for NASCAR but the one thing I just can't get on board with is the Chase. Does it create some sort of playoff? kind of, but if you are doing that, why then are the other 30 drivers out there during the chase? What other sport has non-contenders involved in the playoffs? on top of that back to my point above a boom or bust guy gets a better position in the chase because of the booms, but a guy who is there each week gets no love for consistency because he didn't win enough.

Then make the point bonus for winning bigger but if you are going to do a ridiculous playoff don't re-shuffle the point standings based on who won the most races.

Horsecrap. The only reason the Roushkateers (Edwards, kenseth, Biffle) and Gordon are in the Chase is due to consistency. They haven't won shit, but they're in the thick of things because of their consistency.

NASCAR rewards consistency plenty fine...they also reward winning. There's a perfect balance of "consistent" drivers and "winning" drivers in this year's chase.

Honestly, I get the feeling that you're bitching about something that you're not even paying attention to. In this year's Chase, there's 7 drivers with wins, and 5 with zero wins. And only 60 points seperate 1st from 12th...that's nothing when there's 10 races to go.

Some folks can't be pleased. You appear to be one of them. NASCAR isn't catering to your type, and thankfully so. Perhaps that is what really pisses you off.

They didn't. When the Chase started, wins had no bearing whatsoever. And what happened? Fans bitched and moaned to high holy hell about it, Drivers, too.

So NASCAR adjusted.

It just doesn't interest me anymore. This season may be a wonderful season but the chase, over regulation and CoT crap the past few years absolutely turned me off.

This is evidence that you are bitching about something that you don't even watch anymore.

Over regulation? I can't remember the last time a team was penalized for setup issues. Plus, NASCAR purposely took a hands-off approach this year, and has completely minimized regulation. Carl Edwards almost killed Brad Keselowski a FEW times this year in pay-back crashes...and wasn't penalized a single point. Not one. In season's past, he would have been parked, docked 100 points, and royally screwed.

There's almost NO regulation going on from NASCAR. The CoT has saved a few driver's lives (See Elliott Sadler this year at Pocono) this season alone. Speeds are up, racing is closer. Gone are the days of 8 cars on the lead lap and everyone else just circling the track meaninglessly.

But yeah, somehow NASCAR racing just sucks. Sorry, you're not even coming close to making a compelling argument.

Like i said... this season may be great, but they lost me when they started dicking around with shit.

I know. You're saying you hate the changes that NASCAR made to make the fans and drivers happy. You're saying you'd rather NASCAR be like other major sports, where they refuse to hear the complaints on legitimate issues, and refuse to make changes to make the sport better. You're saying you enjoyed it back in the day where, with 5 races left to go in the season, the Champion can already be crowned. You miss the days of drivers who die in wrecks because the cars aren't safe. You miss the days of 30+ cars being laps down with 50 laps to go.

Nobody wants your NASCAR. That's why it changed.

The reason that NASCAR has lost fans is two fold in my opinion.

A: The championship gets tweaked too much. Every year they make changes to how the Chase will be used. Find one means to declare a champion and live with it.

B: The races have become more boring. What I mean by this is not that the quality of driver has fallen off but in fact the tracks are less interesting now than in the past. Too many 1.5 mile tri-ovals are on the schedule. And not only that, but they double up on the 1.5 mile tri-ovals during the season. Destroying tradition in Darlington as well as completely removing tracks like North Wilksboro has added to the decline of NASCAR.