Are changes coming to NASCAR's Chase for the Sprint Cup?
NASCAR is holding town hall meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday with drivers and owners at its Research and Development Center in Concord, N.C., to discuss a variety of topics.
The sanctioning body is using the competitors as sounding boards to gather ideas on the Chase format and schedule, changes to the testing policy and parameters for Sprint Cup drivers that enter Nationwide Series events.
Increasing the number of participants that are eligible for the Chase as well as the 26th race of the regular schedule and the 10 events of the postseason were open for discussion along with opening the testing ban and limiting the number of Cup drivers eligible for points in NASCAR’s feeder series.
“I think it’s wonderful that they’re sitting us down and talking to us about what we’re thinking and decisions on what the teams or drivers want,” Jamie McMurray said. “There was nothing earth-shattering about the meeting. They were just throwing out things to get our opinion.”
NASCAR Chairman Brian France and President Mike Helton were in attendance on Tuesday.
“We’re all in this together,” McMurray added. “And when changes come, if you know what the mind-set is behind process, then it wont be so shocking.”
The meeting comes less than a month after NASCAR met with owners and general managers to discuss a transition time table for fuel injection and ethanol.
AJ Allmendinger found the meeting productive.
“They have some good ideas,“ Allmendinger said. “Obviously, the ratings have leveled out and we need to do something about it. I really think they’re listening to us. They want our opinions.
“The cars look better with the spoiler. The racing is some of the best that we’ve seen in a long time. The cars are hard to drive but that’s what we get paid to do. There’s nothing to complain about on the racing side, we have to figure out how to get the fans back.”
