CHASE COULD GET A TUNEUP.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 There has been some talk about tinkering with NASCAR's 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 ``Chase for the Championship'' format, the 10-race playoff system initiated two years ago that bunches the top-10 drivers for the last 10 races of the season. Most of the talk centers around expanding the field of eligible drivers for the Chase. There have been some interesting suggestions. One would be to award bonus points for drivers who win a race. Under the current system, the winner of a race at best will earn 20 more points than his nearest competitor. That's only if the winner leads the most laps during the race. But a driver who comes in second can actually score as many points as the winner if the second-place driver leads the most laps in the race. Another suggestion is to have any driver who wins a race in the first 26 earn an automatic bid into the Chase. The man who has the final word if any changes are to be made is 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 , NASCAR's chairman and 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. . About the only thing he has decided to change is the schedule. There will be some new tracks added to the Chase next year, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. one report. But France has given no indication that he would like to see the Chase field expanded. 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). , driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet Monte Carlo The Chevrolet Monte Carlo was an American mid-size car. Originally introduced by Chevrolet for the 1970 model year (as competition with the Ford Thunderbird), it has gone through six generations as of 2007. for Hendrick Motorsports Hendrick Motorsports is a group of NASCAR racing teams started by Rick Hendrick in 1984 under the name "All Star Racing", racing only Chevrolets, racing in both the Nextel Cup and Busch Series circuits. , is one who would like to see the field of eligible drivers shrink for the Chase. ``If I am in the situation to have a nice point lead going into the Chase, I think that's one part of the Chase that could be adjusted and made a little better,'' said Johnson, who has an eight-point lead over 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. of Roush Racing in the Cup standings. ``In my own mind, I also think that making it within 400 points of the leader and not really worrying about 10 cars being in it would be more fair to the teams that have had a great season for the first 26 races.'' As it stands, the Chase consists of the top-10 drivers in the Cup standings after the first 26 races of the season and any driver within 400 points of the leader. But no driver outside the top 10 has been within 400 points of the leader after the first 26 races. It doesn't mean it can't happen (programming) can't happen - The traditional program comment for code executed under a condition that should never be true, for example a file size computed as negative. Often, such a condition being true indicates data corruption or a faulty algorithm; it is almost always handled , but it is an unlikely scenario. 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. , a four-time Cup champion and Johnson's teammate at Hendrick Motorsports, was shut out of the Chase last year. He was the 11th-place driver when the Chase started. It gave Johnson some mixed feelings about who should be eligible for the Chase, in part because Gordon showed he belonged by winning a couple races in the Chase. ``It's so tough to be a champion in our sport and the season is so long to have it all re-racked in a sense, with 10 races to go and you're separated by five points per position,'' Johnson said. ``It's great for fans. As a competitor, I think you have a much different opinion than maybe even the sanctioning body and trying to put on the best possible show for the fans. As a competitor, that's bad news.'' Kanke one win away from history M.K. Kanke said it was one of his goals to catch Rick Carelli Rick Carelli is a race car driver from Arvada, Colorado. Nicknamed, "The High Plains Drifter, he won multiple times in the Craftsman Truck Series, before he suffered near-fatal injuries when his truck hit the wall during a race at Memphis Motorsports Park in 1999. for the lead in wins in the 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. Elite Division, Southwest Series. Kanke, a Kennedy High of Granada Hills graduate, started the season with 20 career wins on the Southwest Series, one behind Carelli for the most in series history. With this year being the last year of Southwest Series competition, Kanke only had nine races left to match Carelli's 21 wins. Kanke caught Carelli on Sunday at Altamont Motorsports Park Altamont Motorsports Park is a motorsports race track located in Alameda County in Northern California between the towns of Tracy and Livermore. It first opened on July 22, 1966, and has variously operated under the names Altamont Speedway, Altamont Raceway, in Tracy, winning a messy race and leading the last 26 laps of the 150-lapper. ``We had a fast car and took our time,'' Kanke said. ``Sometimes these guys lose their heads. It's a very fast race track.'' There were 31 laps of caution and only two cars finished on the lead lap. He won with an average speed of 71.015 mph and collected $4,150. Kanke has five more races left on the Southwest Series schedule to pass Carelli for the outright lead in career wins. ``If it comes, it comes,'' said Kanke, who lives in Frazier Park. ``I think we got a good shot at it. Our goal is to go there and win races.'' The next race is at Stockton 99 Speedway on July 15. The Southwest Series will be at Irwindale Speedway on Aug. 12. Kanke said he particularly likes his chances at Stockton. ``It's a tight, old-school race track,'' Kanke said. ``A lot of guys don't like racing there. You have to drive it. It's a real driving race track, not like Irwindale. ``We got good cars. We should be fine at Stockton.'' Rip Michels of Mission Hills finished second at Altamont, the only other driver in the field of 18 cars on the lead lap. Michels moved into the lead in points in the Southwest Series. He has a 10-point edge over Eddy McKean, who was fourth at Altamont. Michels led 10 laps of the Altamont race, the third race in a row that Michels has been out front. Eric Holmes led a race-high 91 laps, but made contact with Michels on lap 115 and finished 13th. CAPTION(S): 2 photos, 2 boxes Photo: (1) Nextel Cup Series points leader Jimmie Johnson said he would like to see fewer drivers eligible for the Chase for the Championship. Todd Warshaw/Getty Images (2) BRYAN HERTA Box: (1) THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE (2) Etc. |
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