The great equalizer: NHRA drivers share thoughts on Countdown format
Imagine you are in a football game, and you have built a 71 point lead on your opponent headed into the fourth and final quarter. Then an official comes over and tells you your lead has been reset to 10 points.
This scenario isn't much different than what the leading NHRA Countdown to the Championship drivers face this weekend at the NHRA Carolina Nationals, the start of the six-race playoff portion of the 2016 schedule.
Leads were sliced down to 30 points, with the rest of the top 10 staggered in 20 point increments.
No one felt the brunt of this point reset than the three-car team of KB Racing led by Jason Line. The Summit-sponsored team had an incredible regular season, winning 14 of 18 races.
Line held a 71-point lead over teammate and second-seeded Greg Anderson, but this was hardly the most painful part of the reset. The two-time NHRA champion also lost a 652-point advantage he held over the closest point-earning non-teammate.
"We had a great start to the year, I'll always remember it," Line said. "Now we have to finish the job," Line said. "But with the playoff format, those wins suddenly become unimportant. It's 'what are you going to do now?' That's where we're at.
"It is what it is, and they are not going to change it for me."
Funny Car racer Ron Capps knows all about the nuances of the point reset. He's entered the Countdown before with a healthy lead wiped out, only to lose before as few as two points after the reset. In the old system, he would have already won his elusive first championship.
This time, Capps gave up a hard-earned 202-point lead. And he's fine with it. He understands the rules of the game and challenges he faces throughout the next six races. He's got a 30-point lead, and this head-start will have to suffice.
"You're going to need to probably reach semifinals, at least, throughout the Countdown," Capps said. "You might be able to have a hiccup here and a hiccup there, maybe have a (loss in a) second round. But as we've seen in the past, there have been teams that have gone from fifth or worse to come alive and win races in the Countdown, gone on to have big wins near the end of the Countdown.
"That's what we're trying to do, keep going... keep winning. We're going to just try to keep winning rounds."
Just because you know the reset is coming, the sting of losing a major point lead still hurts even the most seasoned drag racer.
Antron Brown has mixed emotions of the whole process.
"From a fan's perspective, it keeps pizzazz in the game," Brown said. "It keeps them tuned in, and interest in the classes.
"From a driver and team perspective, it sucks. All of that work you put in for 18 races gets wiped out. It's like those races didn't mean nothing, but to get you into the Countdown. That hurts a little bit. But you have to do something to make it in there for the playoffs.
"This is like a King of the Hill, you gotta suck it up and everyone has the same rules. You have teams who use this format to their advantage so they can test different things if you have a cushion to prepare yourself for the Countdown. You have to play the chess game with what's in front of you.
"I'm not against the Countdown at all, and I love being a part of it, puts more pressure into the game. Back in the day, you had two or three cars when they first implemented this day that could dominate. Those days are gone."
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Bobby Bennett is the Publisher/Editor of CompetitionPlus.com, a leading independent online drag racing magazine, since 1999. For the latest in dragster news worldwide, visit www.competitionplus.com or follow on Twitter @competitionplus
