Cup drivers too focused on chasing points than wins

	Matt Kenseth claimed victory at Bristol, but his rivals seemed content just to get their points. Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images
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Shortly after Matt Kenseth won the Nextel Cup championship in 2003 -- due mostly to his consistency rather than race wins -- NASCAR changed the rules, and the Nextel Cup Chase for the Championship was born.

Some garage insiders now wonder if another change is necessary.

The unfulfilled promise of a heart-stopping Saturday-night race at Bristol last weekend might make that more plausible. The race just didn't have the pizzazz it did years ago. After pole sitter Kurt Busch fell out and Jeff Burton lost steam, Kenseth all but ran away with the race, while his rivals were content to race for points rather than take a no-holds-barred approach to the checkered flag. Other than fourth-place Scott Riggs having his best race of the year, there was no other compelling story line.

Consistency, not brilliance, is now the goal. NASCAR, it seems, has turned into steady-as-you-go racing.

Asked after the race whether major changes to the points rules were needed to liven things up, Kenseth laughed, then replied: "I'm not even going there. We've got so much work to do before I can even think about that. We're not even one week into the Chase yet, so I'm thinking of it one week at a time."

In 2003, his championship year, he won only one race and led only 354 laps of the 10,350 laps run that season. His statistical pace is much better this year, as the Wisconsin native has notched four Cup victories and led more than twice as many laps with 12 races left in the schedule.

Still, when Kenseth talks about his strategy, he focuses on being consistent, knowing it's the best approach to winning the Chase. With his spot in the Chase now sewn up, Kenseth can forego any sense of daring driving that once appealed to NASCAR fans. The points structure doesn't reward aggressiveness.

Even though the points race will tighten up once the Chase officially begins in New Hampshire, drivers will focus more on top 10 finishes than wins. That's too bad. If the Chase for the Championship is to be considered a playoff like any of the other major sports, shouldn't the honors go to the driver and team that played to win rather than those that played to stay in the Chase? Wouldn't NASCAR fans rather have a champion who's a winner, rather than one who can just call himself Mr. Reliable?

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