NASCAR has become a fucking joke.....

"jvirgs drives a Subaru" (jvirgs)
11/22/2015 at 20:04 • Filed to: NASCAR

Kyle Busch misses 1/3 of the races and “wins” the championship. Fucking bullshit. The Chase system alone was hard to defend, and after this, I’m done trying to defend/justify this fucking half-ass backwards way of crowning a champion. There is no other form of motorsports where a driver can miss 1/3 of the season and still be champ. As a fan for 20+ years, I’m beyond pissed if you couldn’t tell from the title.......

DISCUSSION (35)

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > jvirgs drives a Subaru
11/22/2015 at 20:10

There’s unfathomable amounts of questionable bullshit going on behind the scenes I think. Like even with the stupid chase rules, he missed 11 races.

That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms > jvirgs drives a Subaru
11/22/2015 at 20:15

Only NASCAR could take a system that was as flawed as the Chase was when they introduced it and somehow make it worse. Playoffs don’t work in motorsports, and letting a guy who missed half the season into the playoffs makes it even worse.

jvirgs drives a Subaru > Logansteno: Bought a VW?
11/22/2015 at 20:19

It must be #quintessential NASCAR.

carcrasher88 > jvirgs drives a Subaru
11/22/2015 at 20:19

Still nowhere near as big of a joke Formula 1 has become.

jvirgs drives a Subaru > carcrasher88
11/22/2015 at 20:21

At lease you can’t win the championship after missing 1/3 of the season.

desertdog5051 > jvirgs drives a Subaru
11/22/2015 at 20:21

A lot of butt-hurt going around tonight.

Suck it up Kylie haters.

It is what it is.

CTSenVy > jvirgs drives a Subaru
11/22/2015 at 20:26

I don’t know why they even bothered with the start all 26 races rule if they keep giving out exemption for everybody that ask for one. Add to that the changing rules on restarts, and the normal mysterious late race caution.

jvirgs drives a Subaru > desertdog5051
11/22/2015 at 20:26

Hell, I would have been fine with Newman winning the championship last year. He ran all the races and did what he needed to do to advance and you can’t eliminate consistency from any system unless you crown a champion purely on wins. Kyle Busch missed 11 races and got a waiver because NASCAR said his injury was their fault and NASCAR felt it was the right thing to do. Umm no, thats bullshit.

LSXforYourSuperCar > jvirgs drives a Subaru
11/22/2015 at 20:38

I for one love the new format, it emphasizes winning races more than being consistent (being boring/risk-adverse).

Why doesn’t the NFL, NBA, MLB, or NHL just award the championship to the team with the best regular-season record? The Chase seems to me more like a correction of a fault of a point system championship rather than a blunder, more intensity and more head to head racing for the cup.

jvirgs drives a Subaru > LSXforYourSuperCar
11/22/2015 at 20:40

I agree. But you can’t have a driver miss 11 races and still win the championship. That’s what my issue is. NASCAR doesn’t grant the bullshit waivers and I’m perfectly fine with whoever would have won the championship.

George McNally > jvirgs drives a Subaru
11/22/2015 at 20:43

They need to make it simple......

-9 points First Place

-6 points Second Place

-5 Points Third Place....etc down to 1 point for 7th place.

desertdog5051 > jvirgs drives a Subaru
11/22/2015 at 20:44

But isn’t the Chase based on points? If you make enough points, you get in.

I don’t follow NASCAR that close anymore.

As I said, it is what it is.

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > jvirgs drives a Subaru
11/22/2015 at 20:47

Jochen Rindt won the F1 championship in 70 killed in the 10th race.

missing31% of races.

jvirgs drives a Subaru > desertdog5051
11/22/2015 at 20:48

No. If you are in Top 30 in points and have a win, you are in. If 16 drivers do not win, then the final spots are based on points. The rules also state that you have to qualify for every race. NASCAR granted Busch an exemption because of his injury on that front. Under season long points, he would have finished 18thish and either Logano or Harvick would have been champ. Hell Harvick would have been Champ tonight if NASCAR didn’t hand out waivers like halloween candy.

John Norris (AngryDrifter) > jvirgs drives a Subaru
11/22/2015 at 20:50

1. I don’t like Kyle Busch
2. He earned the championship win
3. Despite being out for 11 races due to an injury in the first race, only one driver had more wins, and only five drivers had more top five finishes.
4. He dominated the last 25 races of the 36 race season
5. I still don’t like Kyle Busch

desertdog5051 > jvirgs drives a Subaru
11/22/2015 at 20:54

Did not know that.

jvirgs drives a Subaru > John Norris (AngryDrifter)
11/22/2015 at 20:54

While those stats are impressive, that still doesn’t fix the fact that he missed 11 races and that NASCAR awarded the waiver because they felt bad.

John Norris (AngryDrifter) > jvirgs drives a Subaru
11/22/2015 at 21:32

I can’t believe I am defending Kurt Busch.

He had more wins and and top fives in his 25 race season then almost any other drivers had in their 36 race opportunities. That performance got him included in the 16 that qualified for the chase.

He was easily one of the most successful 5 drivers leading up to the chase. That would have been very hard to explain had he not been included as part of the most successful 16.

His performance in the chase speaks for itself. He survived to be one of the final four, and then he beat the other three drivers in the final race, as the rules prescribe.

Of course he not only beat those 3, he beat the other 39 as well.

Destructive Tester > carcrasher88
11/22/2015 at 21:33

I don’t know, even the Abu Dhabi double points bullshit last season wasn’t this bad... This feels like if Rosberg were to win this season’s WDC because he won the last 3 races after getting curb-stomped all season...

The “debris caution” in the last 10 laps was more than a little predictable too... I know there was something metallic on the track, but the commentators were talking about an impending caution at least 10 laps earlier...

LSXforYourSuperCar > jvirgs drives a Subaru
11/22/2015 at 21:40

I believe the best driver/crew chief/team-combo should win the championship, and this year, it was Kyle Busch and JGR. It’s not like the 18 hadn’t intended to compete for an entire season.

Wait till concussion protocols are implemented fully, health exemptions will be handed out like candy on Halloween.

DrJohannVegas > jvirgs drives a Subaru
11/22/2015 at 21:40

I haven’t done the math (but am willing to, if there’s interest), but I do think it’s possible. It’s DEFINITELY possible under the old (pre-2000s) rules, where a limited number of finishes counted.

jvirgs drives a Subaru > John Norris (AngryDrifter)
11/22/2015 at 21:56

His performance only got him in the chase with NASCARs waiver, which he shouldn’t have gotten

jvirgs drives a Subaru > DrJohannVegas
11/22/2015 at 22:09

In the previous pre-chase format, all finishes counted in the championship. Rookie of the year only counted, and still does, the best 16 races.

John Norris (AngryDrifter) > jvirgs drives a Subaru
11/22/2015 at 22:15

I concede your point. Despite his outstanding performance, he required the waiver to get in the chase.

He still earned the championship.

And I still stand by #1 and #5 above.

Paaron > jvirgs drives a Subaru
11/22/2015 at 22:23

From 1981-90, only the best 11 finishes (out of 16 races) counted towards the Formula One world championship. Theoretically you COULD have missed about a third of the races and still won the championship.

That said, you are 100% correct, NASCAR is a fucking joke.

DrJohannVegas > jvirgs drives a Subaru
11/22/2015 at 22:32

Sorry, I was imprecise with my response. I meant in F1. Although, the old Cup format definitely privileged consistent finishes over a few big wins. So, I was mistaken in my reading of your post.

Clutchman83 > gmporschenut also a fan of hondas
11/22/2015 at 22:39

I responded to you over on the BlackFlag article but I will say it again more concisely here. Jochen Rindt finished with the most points despite not competing in those races. He won because he accrued more points than any other driver over the course of the entire season. Kyle needed the rules changed to accommodate him, Rindt did not.

Clutchman83 > jvirgs drives a Subaru
11/22/2015 at 22:46

Completely agree. I’ve had trouble with staying interested since the Chase was implemented in 2004. As a lifelong fan of motorsports I would enjoy NASCAR significantly more without the gimmicks. I’m not much of a Kyle Busch fan but I can respect what he accomplished this year, however he should not have been eligible for the chase. NASCAR changing the rules on the fly for it’s star drivers undermines the legitimacy of the championship. I would say the same thing if it were Gordon or Harvick or Stewart or anyone else in Kyle’s position today. Not a good day for NASCAR.

Jayvincent > jvirgs drives a Subaru
11/22/2015 at 23:37

Stop calling it a “championship” - it’s not. It’s a playoff or elimination round winner. A “champion” implies the best of the season. Playoff implies head to head comparisons. Elimination winner is just endurance and luck. A Champion would be the best overall average finish, which clearly is not a factor anymore. Bring back the old points system or call it what it is: the chase system produces the ultimate “lucky dog” champion.

RD > John Norris (AngryDrifter)
11/22/2015 at 23:54

No need to concede to jvirgs, AngryDrifter. The waiver was appropriate on 3 grounds:

Firstly, the waiver is in place to prevent a team from running a few races and gaining a chase birth. Road courses or Talladega would be my choice to run if such a rule did not exist. The #18 team certainly made an attempt to qualify for each race...so I think the waiver makes sense here.

Secondly, I am in favour of any sanctioning body using waivers for the health of its stars. This allows key members of the TEAM to heal...without causing the entire TEAM to sit out because of one member.

And as I hinted above, surely, jvirgs would concede this is a team sport despite the driver being the face for the team. Kyle was only part of that team...so the fact he missed 11 races is correct, but not relevant in my mind. To follow your logic, then the KC Royals should not be champions because they acquired Johnny Cueto at the trade deadline. He didn’t play the whole season. Or a football team whom had their star quarter back injured...then return for the playoffs...they aren’t champs then either?

PS - Oh, and I’m not a shrub fan either.

jvirgs drives a Subaru > Clutchman83
11/23/2015 at 00:00

I agree 100%

sdwarf36 > jvirgs drives a Subaru
11/23/2015 at 00:38

Sure you could. As long as you get more points than anyone else. As in Kyles case—you had to be in the top 30 in points to be eligible. Which he was.

jvirgs drives a Subaru > sdwarf36
11/23/2015 at 11:59

He needed a waiver from NASCAR for that to be relevant. Thats were my problem is.

John Norris (AngryDrifter) > RD
11/23/2015 at 20:18

I only conceded the point that indeed Kyle Busch needed the waiver to get in the chase. Nothing else.

... the waiver is in place to prevent a team from running a few races and gaining a chase birth.

You made an excellent point here. And looking at it further last night, this is not the first waiver they granted on this, he was just the first to cash it on a championship. And they gave him the waiver back in May. It’s not like they came up with it at the 11th hour.

Okay, I’m done defending Kyle Bush and JG racing.

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > Clutchman83
11/23/2015 at 22:59

So you’re following me?

Kinja'd!!!