NASCAR needs a new system

So NASCAR has a new playoff system, the “Chase for the Cup.” The top 10 racers after 26 races qualify for the “Chase,” which is a series of 10 races to finish the season. The racer with the most points at the end of the playoffs is the champion. Sounds great, except that the field is not truly level at the start of the “Chase” so we are faced with the dire situation of having a Nextel Cup champion, the punk Tony Stewart, who could not manage to win a race during the “playoffs.” Meanwhile, a truly inspirational racer, he of the broad smile and backflip, Carl Edwards, has won two races and can’t manage to rise higher than 4th in the standings. This is an abomination! Champions should win races, not stagger across the finish line like a drunk Marine trying to get back to the ship after liberty.

NASCAR should institute a playoff whereby the top 10 start with zero points and truly race to the finish. Further, NASCAR should make it so that whoever among the final 10 wins the most races during the “Chase” is the champion. Points would serve only as a tie breaker.