`INTERSECTION' USED TO TWEAK CHASE.Byline: TIM TIM Timothy TIM Technical Interchange Meeting TIM Transient Intermodulation Distortion TIM Time Is Money TIM The Invisible Man (movie) TIM Telecom Italia Mobile (Italian cellular provider) HADDOCK MOTOR SPORTS As expected, NASCAR NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing), organization that sanctions American stock-car races, est. 1948. It held its first race in Daytona Beach, Fla. tweaked the Chase. Now winning races -- especially one of the first 26 -- matters more than it ever has before. But NASCAR would have you believe it cares more about balance than speed. NASCAR CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. and chairman Brian France Brian France (born August 2, 1962) is the CEO and chairman of NASCAR, taking over the position from his father, Bill France, Jr., in 2003 [1]. He had previously managed NASCAR's marketing department and touring divisions and was involved in the creation of the Craftsman said Monday that he was looking to find the intersection between winning and consistency. He believes he found it. This is how he got there. Old rule: The top 10 drivers after the first 26 races of the year qualify for the Chase. New rule: The top 12 drivers after the first 26 races qualify. Old rule: Any driver within 400 points of the leader after the first 26 races qualifies. New rule: In three years, no driver outside the top 10 ever came anywhere near 400 points of the leader. Eliminate the 400-point rule. ``We had a vision that we would have more than 10,'' France said. ``We thought the wild card or 400-point position would come into play and it did not. In my view, I'm not sure we added teams in one respect because we already had the provision with the 400 points.'' Old rule: Once the Chase starts, the top 10 drivers will be separated by increments of five points. For example, Matt Kenseth Matthew Roy Kenseth (born March 10 1972) is a stock car racing driver for the Roush Fenway Racing team in NASCAR's Nextel Cup series. Kenseth was raised in Cambridge, Wisconsin. was the No. 1 driver when the Chase started last year. He had a five-point lead over Jimmie Johnson This article is about NASCAR driver. For the football player, see Jimmie Johnson (American football). For people named Jimmy Johnson, see Jimmy Johnson (disambiguation). , the second-place driver. Kenseth had a 10-point lead over Kevin Harvick For the racing team owned by Kevin Harvick and his wife Delana, see . Kevin Michael Harvick (born December 8, 1975 in Bakersfield, California) is an American race car driver and car owner, competing in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup and Busch Series for Richard Childress Racing, driving , the third-place driver, and so on down the line. New rule: Once the Chase starts, the points will be reset to 5,000. The driver in the Chase with the most wins earns 10points per win and will be seeded first. The driver with the second-most wins will earn 10points per win and be seeded second. In the event of a tie, the driver with the most second-place finishes gets the higher seed. If this format was used last year, Kasey Kahne Kasey Kahne (born April 10, 1980 in Enumclaw, Washington) is a race car driver in NASCAR's NEXTEL Cup Series. He currently drives the #9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger/Dodge Avenger for Gillett Evernham Motorsports with teammates Scott Riggs and Elliott Sadler. , the 10th and last driver to qualify for the Chase, would have been seeded No. 1 because before the Chase started, he won five races, more than any other driver in the Chase. Old rule: The top 10 drivers get invited to New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of for the NASCAR Nextel Cup The NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series is NASCAR's top racing series. It was formerly known as the Strictly Stock Series (1949), Grand National Series (1950-1971), and the Winston Cup Series (1972-2003). Series awards ceremony. New rule: The top 10 drivers get invited to New York for the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series awards ceremony. The two drivers who made the Chase, but didn't finish in the top 10, sorry, you're not invited. Old rule: The 11th-place driver in the Nextel Cup Series standings gets a $1 million bonus. New rule: The 11th-place driver no longer gets $1 million bonus or an invitation to New York. ``It's going to be straight-up; you make it or you don't,'' France said. ``No bonuses in that respect.'' In France's eyes, the Chase did what it was supposed to do. It created a playoff atmosphere in NASCAR at a time when none existed before. Tight point races were rare before the Chase. Now the championship is all but guaranteed to be decided on the last race of the season. ``The key issue for us that remains today is the intersection between winning and consistency,'' France said. ``In our view, the balance is slightly not where we want it to be. We want to emphasize and enhance winning even more.'' At least in the first 26 races. ``I don't like and no one likes when a driver gets out of their car and says, `I'm happy to have had an eighth-place finish,''' France said. ``No one in NASCAR thinks that's a neat thing to hear.'' Finally NASCAR is listening. Winning races should mean more than finishing them. Before the Chase, the driver who finished the most races, and finished well, usually won the championship. With the new Chase rules, drivers who win races will be rewarded deservedly. ``While they may not be radical changes, they're symbolic,'' France said. ``And they're not only symbolic, we think they're going to achieve our goal: Arrive at that intersection with the perfect balance between winning and consistency.'' Racing's `24' takes place this weekend The Grand Am Sports Car Series starts this weekend with the Rolex 24 at Daytona on Saturday. Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon Jeffery Michael Gordon (born August 4, 1971) is a professional American race car driver. He was born in Vallejo, California, raised in Pittsboro, Indiana, and currently lives in Charlotte, North Carolina. lead a list of NASCAR stars who are entered in the sports car endurance race around the 3.56-mileroad course at Daytona International Speedway Daytona International Speedway is a superspeedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is a 2.5 mile (4 km) tri-oval race track facility with a seating capacity of 168,000 spectators. in Florida. Tony Stewart For other persons named Tony Stewart, see Tony Stewart (disambiguation). Anthony Wayne "Tony" Stewart (born May 20, 1971) is an auto racing driver who was born in Columbus, Indiana. He has won championships in sprint cars, Indy cars, and stock cars. , Juan Pablo Montoya Juan Pablo Montoya Roldán (born September 20 1975 in Bogotá, Colombia) is a race car driver in NASCAR for Chip Ganassi Racing and a former Formula One and Indycar driver. He was born in Bogotá where he was taught the techniques of karting from an early age by his father Pablo, an , Bill Lester and A.J. Allmendinger are also entered in the 24 at Daytona. From the first sports car race at Daytona, NASCAR drivers have been a part of its history. Fireball Roberts, Joe Weatherly, Paul Goldsmith, Marvin Panch and Dick Rathmann were in the first one. Rathmann finished sixth and Roberts came home 12th in a 50-car field. Last year, Casey Mears became the first active NASCAR driver to win the 24 at Daytona. He teamed with Dan Wheldon and Scott Dixon to win the race last year for owner Chip Ganassi. John Andretti, who currently races on the NASCAR Busch Series, won the 24 at Daytona in 1989 driving with Derek Bell and Bob Wollek. Other NASCAR legends have entered the race. Darrell Waltrip drove a Chevrolet Camaro in 1987. In his first attempt, Waltrip drove an Aston-Martin prototype with A.J. Foyt in 1983. Dale Earnhardt and his son, Dale Earnhardt Jr., shared a Chevrolet Corvette corvette, small warship, classed between a frigate and a sloop-of-war. Corvettes usually were flush-decked and carried fewer than 28 guns. They were widely employed in escorting convoys and attacking merchant ships during the great naval wars of the late 18th and in the 24 at Daytona in 2001. This year's version begins at 10:30a.m. Saturday and ends at approximately 10:30 a.m. Sunday. California Sports Car Club: The California Sports Car Club begins its season this weekend at California Speedway. It will be the first of 10 scheduled road-racing weekends by the California Sports Car Club. Events are also at Willow Springs International Raceway in Rosamond and Buttonwillow Raceway Park Buttonwillow Raceway Park is a motorsports park in Kern County, California, 10 miles north of the town of Buttonwillow and 28 miles northwest of Bakersfield. Owned and operated by the California Sports Car Club, a region of SCCA, Buttonwillow is the "flagship" track of Cal Club, . Practice and qualifying at California Speedway begins Saturday. Five national and six regional groups are scheduled to race on Sunday. Calendar of events and additional information is available at www.calclub.com. CAPTION(S): 2 photos, box Photo: (1) Had the Chase's new rules been in effect last season, Kasey Kahne would have been seeded first because of his five race victories. Brian Bahr/Getty Images (2) no caption (race car) Box: Etc. |
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