Here’s five ways to fix NASCAR’s Chase

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Less than three years into the Chase for the championship, NASCAR chairman Brian France wants to tweak his title-crowning format.

He’s just not 100 percent sure what he wants to do to it.

France could widen the field to include more than 10 drivers, or he could reduce it. He might tinker with the way points are awarded, or he might place a larger emphasis on winning.

There’s also an outside chance France might shuffle the final 10 races, giving the eligible drivers a variety of tracks to conquer.

It’s all a mystery right now because France himself doesn’t know what he wants to do. The only thing that’s certain is that the drivers are praying he gets it right.

Since the Chase debuted in 2004, making that 10-race “playoff” has become the benchmark in NASCAR. Since France is thinking about making adjustments, here are five that would make the Chase better:

1. Keep the field at 10 drivers.

Only the best of the best in any sport deserve a chance to win the overall championship. Yes, leagues such as the NBA and NHL have postseasons so large that teams hovering right around – and sometimes below – .500 can make it into the playoffs.

But NASCAR shouldn’t head that way. Only the 10 drivers who have managed to overcome every blown tire, every brush with the wall and every failing part deserve to run for the championship.

2. Place a premium on winning, such as a 50-point bonus.

Some believe that any driver who wins a race should automatically qualify for the Chase. That theory has flaws because victories come in all shapes and forms.

One driver could steal a win by stretching a tank of gas, or a road-course ringer who only drives two events a year might pull one out. That shouldn’t qualify them for championship consideration.

If NASCAR gave bonuses for winning, then Jeff Gordon gets in last year based on the 150 extra points he received for winning three times.

3. Make it a real playoff.

As it stands, all 10 drivers race for 10 races and no one is eliminated from contention.

But in reality, half of those drivers don’t stand a chance to win the title after the third or fourth event because they’ve already fallen so far behind in the points.

Cut the field in half after the first five races. Those bottom five are out of contention, racing only for the monetary difference between the sixth-place payout and 10th-place earnings.

4. Give the Chase drivers their own points system.

Yes, it will be confusing to follow for the fans in the stands. But the current scoring system, based on an entire 43-car field, isn’t really fair.

All it takes is for one or two Chase drivers to be caught in a non-Chase drivers’ accident to end a championship run.

So score points on a sliding scale to the Chase drivers only, 20 points to the top finisher down to two points to the lowest. It keeps everyone from falling too far behind and gives them a chance to get back into contention in just one week.

5. Change the schedule for a wider variety of tracks for the Chase.

Start with the final qualifying race by moving it to California Speedway, giving NASCAR the increased interest it wants in the Los Angeles market. Then open the Chase the next weekend under the lights in Richmond, Va., a short track that always produces dramatic finishes.

Then go to Darlington, NASCAR’s oldest superspeedway, which is a bear to master but a test to a driver’s true talent. After that comes the high speeds of Charlotte, then Talladega for an anything-goes restrictor plate race.

Next is Martinsville for another short track, followed by Kansas City, the road course in Sonoma, Calif., and another fast race in Atlanta.

Then close out the season with Texas and Homestead, Fla. in a schedule that offers a little bit of everything and hits many of NASCAR’s best markets.