Fans' rant

NASCAR's new playoff format receives chilly reception

In response to NASCAR opting for a 10-race playoff at the end of the schedule, readers had this to say:

Keep it up, NASCAR, and sooner or later you will have competition. A new stock car racing league could be just around the corner that will sweep in and grab the gold rings and give the fans what they really want. You're not so big and undefeatable that a David couldn't come along and knock you off your high horse. More points for winning, yes. Points for pole position, yes. But going to a politically correct reset of points for the last 10 races is just plain wrong. Just let them all race for the marbles. Also, crippled cars have no business coming back out on the track. Once they pull behind the wall, they're finished.
-- Dan, Coalinga, Calif.

I want to thank Mike Helton and Brian France. You have finally changed enough rules that I no longer care for the sport. How many fans like me are you going to drive away from the sport? No wonder the NFL is kicking your butt.-- Michael, Bolingbrook, Ill.

I'm trying to imagine other individual sports like PGA the or USTA saying to the players: "I know you've worked hard these past eight months to establish your ranking, but for the last two months of the season, we're going to adjust the points so anyone in the top 10 can achieve the No. 1 ranking for the end of the year. Things that make you go "hmmm?" I guess I just don't get it. -- Mike, Urbandale, Iowa

NASCAR is selling out three-generation racing families like mine for their "new markets and fans." I miss the days when I could afford to take my family to the races, tell the difference between a Ford and Chevy, pull for a guy who talked the way I liked as well as drive, where drivers found their groove, not hit their marks, and teams could be creative with their engineering, and the other guys just had to work harder to catch up. What will NASCAR do when it's no longer the shiny new toy with these new fans and the families that were with them for 40 years are gone? -- B. Williams, Bean Station, Tenn.

Way to "tweak" the points system. More like ruin it! How about award the winner at least 15 more points than second and only give points to the top 25 finishers, thus eliminating the guys who wreck or are too slow and just do laps at the end of the race? NASCAR has effectively made the races leading up to the final 10 insignificant.-- Mark, Ann Arbor, Mich.

Here we go again. Money talks and bull---- walks. NASCAR better heed the fans' warning or they will be out the door faster than an NBA player. Leave the rules alone and let the drivers drive the cars. I am sick and tired of seeing 40 cars run around a track in a pack like dogs. Faster cars should be the rule, not rule changes. -- Roy, Fayetteville, N.C.

I am having a hard time understanding what Brian France and Mike Helton are thinking! You are exactly correct -- all they needed to do was give the top few finishing positions more points to reward front-runners. I was sure that there had been plenty of close battles for the championship over the last 5-10 years, so I am really having trouble understanding where the problem was with the old system. -- Wayne, Mt. Sidney, Va.

It looks like the NASCAR executives and officials are more determined than ever to ruin this sport with these new rule changes. They're the only ones who are happy with these new rules. The drivers, owners and fans hate them. Shouldn't the executives at least have asked the drivers what their opinion was before they started making these rules? After all, the fans come to see the drivers and the race teams -- not the executives. -- Kenneth, Murfreesboro, Tenn.

If this stupid points system is placed in effect, reduce the number of NASCAR fans by one. I will not watch. -- James, Jellico, Tenn.

NASCAR has their heads up their exhaust pipes. They don't care what the fans think, never have. It's a family-run business and always will be. It's about the dollar. The playoff system idea sucks air like a bad restrictor-plate engine. Cookie-cutter cars were only the beginning of losing interest in NASCAR. I'm a motor head and I don't watch other sports until the playoffs and final championships. Why should I watch NASCAR for 26 weeks, when the last 10 weeks is the real season? If my favorite driver is not in the top 10 or within 400 points, I'm not going sit down and watch a full race or any of it. NASCAR is so commercial it's not even funny any more. I guess I'll be working a lot more on my hot rod and home projects this race season. -- Jeff, Turlock, Calif.

Give me a break! Petitions. Angry e-mails. Negative opinions expressed in chat rooms or on discussion boards. Op/ed writers masquerading as journalists and complaining about everything and everyone. How about this? Just change the channel, or better yet, turn off the TV. The advertisers will catch on quickly, and NASCAR will soon follow. I hope there is a lockout/strike in the NHL and I hope no one watches another game of hockey ever again. I hope no one watches another NASCAR race ever again! We have met the enemy, and he is us. The moron viewers who rant and rave and complain and moan, but most importantly, we always keep on watching. -- Del, Dallas

I watched the news conference this morning and was sickened even further. I am tired of being treated as a non-issue by NASCAR, even though it is the fans who have fueled the sport and put it in the money in the first place. To tell the fans that we don't like the changes because we don't understand them, speaks volumes as to how little they know or respect the fans. I agree with fans who suggest the drivers should be speaking louder in protest, but they have the fear factor to deal with. I'm hoping the sponsors realize the fresh sushi they thought they were paying for is two-day old carp, and that the smell gets to them. As fans, we may have to watch the show they put on, but we don't have to pay for it. Money is the only thing these ass----- want. Watch if you like, but keep your butts out of the seats and your bucks in your pockets! Together, our voices can become too loud for NASCAR to ignore.  -- Patty, Westland, Mich.