-
Home
- TV Shows
- TV Schedule
- NASCAR
-
Formula 1
- Auto Racing
- Moto Racing
- Cars
- Bikes
- Store
- Social
- Games
- Mobile
- Deals
- Videos
- Photos
- Home
- TV Shows
-
TV Schedule
-
SPEED Showcase
-
- NASCAR
- Formula 1
- Auto Racing
- Moto Racing
- Cars
- Bikes
- Store
- Social
- Mobile
- Deals
- Videos
- Photos
Sprint Cup
CUP: Penske Wants Chase Points Tweaked
Roger Penske’s team will race at his old track this weekend...
Team owner Roger Penske was one of the first members of the NASCAR community to arrive at the airport after Sunday's race at Talladega. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
Roger Penske will be back on home ground this weekend, when the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series race at Michigan International Speedway, the track Penske built before selling it to International Speedway Corp.
Penske driver Kurt Busch is coming off a second-place finish at Watkins Glen International, and barring a complete collapse over the next four races is a lock to make the Chase for the Sprint Cup again.
Next week during a press conference for Texas Motor Speedway, NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France may give some insight into how the Chase format might change in 2011.
France has hinted that there might be a format where the Chase field expands, with some knockout rounds that would shrink the field as the Chase winds down, perhaps culminating in a winner-take-all battle among the top three to five drivers in the final race of the season.
Penske said Tuesday that he favors a dedicated points systems for the Chase drivers once the playoff round begins.
“The Chase has worked,” Penske said. “One of the things that I’ve said to Brian (France) and NASCAR is the top-12 drivers should get top-12 points. Even though you finish 35th, you would still get top-12 points and keep a lot more guys in it. Maybe people won’t like that. To me, that’s certainly a way to tighten it up and have five guys racing for it at the end. I think the idea of having the 10 points for each win is a good one.”
Penske was less sanguine about knocking out drivers as the Chase went on.
“You could have an accident, a blown engine,” he said. “I don’t think that we need to have eliminations. You might have the guy like (Cup points leader Kevin) Harvick that leads the season and all of a sudden he loses a motor, gets into an accident and he’s out of the Chase. I don’t think that’s the way to pay a guy who’s done so well for the season. I’d like to see the points, no matter where you finish. If you finish first you get the first-place points, if you finish 35th you get the 12th points against the 12 guys who are racing each other.”
As of now, Penske is the only Dodge factory team in NASCAR, but that could change going forward, especially with the advent of the new-generation NASCAR Nationwide cars that will race for the second time this weekend in Michigan and full time in 2011.
Dodge races its Charger in the Sprint Cup Series and the Challenger in the Nationwide Series, both with Penske.
“Roger and I are actually in discussion with what to do with our racing team going forward. I’m sticking with Roger and I hope that he’s sticking with me,” said Dodge President and CEO Ralph Gilles. “ ... I’m very intrigued on what Nationwide brings because unlike the other OEM’s, I’ve had two performance cars (Charger and Challenger) to market. I look at shining more light on Nationwide and maybe balancing that out. We’re seeing some great talent come to Nationwide. The promoters are doing a nice job with it. The fan base is growing stronger and stronger. I see the weekend as two combined events that we can use to our advantage. I would say not necessarily expand, but really till the soil of what’s already there.”
As for Penske, one of his big unanswered questions is the future of driver Sam Hornish Jr., which he says is still a work in progress.
“We’ve said publically that we want to run Sam next year (in NASCAR),” said Penske. “He’s not going back to open-wheel racing. He’s going to be in NASCAR racing. It’s a matter of us getting the sponsorship stuff together. As you know, budgets are tight. We’ve got a number of opportunities out there that we’re working on. That’s a decision that we’ll make as we get toward the end of the season and we’ll make it transparent to everyone.”
Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief of SPEED.com, Senior NASCAR Editor at RACER and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. You can follow him online at twitter.com/tomjensen100 and e-mail him at Jensen is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of Speed,” and has appeared on numerous television and radio shows. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association and an NMPA Writer of the Year.
Penske driver Kurt Busch is coming off a second-place finish at Watkins Glen International, and barring a complete collapse over the next four races is a lock to make the Chase for the Sprint Cup again.
Next week during a press conference for Texas Motor Speedway, NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France may give some insight into how the Chase format might change in 2011.
France has hinted that there might be a format where the Chase field expands, with some knockout rounds that would shrink the field as the Chase winds down, perhaps culminating in a winner-take-all battle among the top three to five drivers in the final race of the season.
Penske said Tuesday that he favors a dedicated points systems for the Chase drivers once the playoff round begins.
“The Chase has worked,” Penske said. “One of the things that I’ve said to Brian (France) and NASCAR is the top-12 drivers should get top-12 points. Even though you finish 35th, you would still get top-12 points and keep a lot more guys in it. Maybe people won’t like that. To me, that’s certainly a way to tighten it up and have five guys racing for it at the end. I think the idea of having the 10 points for each win is a good one.”
Penske was less sanguine about knocking out drivers as the Chase went on.
“You could have an accident, a blown engine,” he said. “I don’t think that we need to have eliminations. You might have the guy like (Cup points leader Kevin) Harvick that leads the season and all of a sudden he loses a motor, gets into an accident and he’s out of the Chase. I don’t think that’s the way to pay a guy who’s done so well for the season. I’d like to see the points, no matter where you finish. If you finish first you get the first-place points, if you finish 35th you get the 12th points against the 12 guys who are racing each other.”
As of now, Penske is the only Dodge factory team in NASCAR, but that could change going forward, especially with the advent of the new-generation NASCAR Nationwide cars that will race for the second time this weekend in Michigan and full time in 2011.
Dodge races its Charger in the Sprint Cup Series and the Challenger in the Nationwide Series, both with Penske.
“Roger and I are actually in discussion with what to do with our racing team going forward. I’m sticking with Roger and I hope that he’s sticking with me,” said Dodge President and CEO Ralph Gilles. “ ... I’m very intrigued on what Nationwide brings because unlike the other OEM’s, I’ve had two performance cars (Charger and Challenger) to market. I look at shining more light on Nationwide and maybe balancing that out. We’re seeing some great talent come to Nationwide. The promoters are doing a nice job with it. The fan base is growing stronger and stronger. I see the weekend as two combined events that we can use to our advantage. I would say not necessarily expand, but really till the soil of what’s already there.”
As for Penske, one of his big unanswered questions is the future of driver Sam Hornish Jr., which he says is still a work in progress.
“We’ve said publically that we want to run Sam next year (in NASCAR),” said Penske. “He’s not going back to open-wheel racing. He’s going to be in NASCAR racing. It’s a matter of us getting the sponsorship stuff together. As you know, budgets are tight. We’ve got a number of opportunities out there that we’re working on. That’s a decision that we’ll make as we get toward the end of the season and we’ll make it transparent to everyone.”
Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief of SPEED.com, Senior NASCAR Editor at RACER and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. You can follow him online at twitter.com/tomjensen100 and e-mail him at Jensen is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of Speed,” and has appeared on numerous television and radio shows. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association and an NMPA Writer of the Year.
Shake and Bake: Recent Posts
-
Ricky vs. Danica: All-Star Race - Who's On Top This Week? »
-
Feud of the Week: Joe Gibbs Racing vs. the Sprint All-Star Race »
-
Race Day Blog: Sights and Sounds From the Sprint All-Star Race »
-
Daryl Wright Breaks It Down With Pit Road Rapper Kenyatta Houston »
-
Daryl ' Vodkatime ' Wright Takes To Charlotte Motor Speedway »
-
Brad Keselowski's All-Star Car Features Awkward Kyle Busch Photo »
-
Kyle Busch Kicks Off All-Star Weekend With Trucks Win »
-
Dale Earnhardt Sr., Father of the All-Star Paint Scheme »
Kansas Speedway
LATEST HEADLINES: NASCAR
-
CUP: All-Star Power Rankings
Jimmie Johnson moves back to the top of the FOXSports.com/SPEED.com… -
CUP: Johnson Destroys Another Format
For a record fourth time, Jimmie Johnson rolls home first in Sprint… -
CUP: Busches Falter In Final Shootout
Kyle, Kurt Busch lose top spots on pit road prior to 10-lap finale…… -
CUP: Johnson Sets Record With All-Star Win
Jimmie Johnson is now the only four-time winner of the Sprint All-Star… -
CUP: Saturday Charlotte Notebook (UPDATE 14)
Jimmie Johnson wins the the All-Star Race... -
CUP: McMurray, Stenhouse Advance To All-Star
Jamie McMurray dominates Showdown to move into All-Star field with… -
EXCLUSIVE: Kahne Says He And Kyle Busch Are Cool
Kasey Kahne spun out racing Kyle Busch for the lead at Darlington… - More News
