Submitted by NASCAR Ranting and Raving Blog
Jeff Gordon fans are rabid right now. Why? Because under the old point system Jeff Gordon would be Champion instead of Jimmie Johnson. In fact, this Championship would make Jeff Gordon a 6 time Champ because he would have won another Championship under the old point system the very first year The Chase format was introduced.
With that being said, the question remains to be answered; “Is Jimmie Johnson really the Champ?” Yes. Yes, he is!
Why is he? Because he won under the current rules that is why.
But wait, shouldn’t the driver who is more consistent throughout the entire year be the Champ? Under the old point system; yes, but under the current one; no.
But that isn’t fair! Yes it is, because Jimmie and his team carefully crafted their race season to meet these rules. They realized that all they had to do was stay close to the current point leader in the first 26 races so that they could be in striking distance when the Chase was on. They played it to a ‘T’. They didn’t have to go out every week and try for the victory, and maybe crash or blow up, this way they didn’t have to show their hand to anyone until it was time for The Chase. Call it playing possum if you want, but I wouldn’t. I’d call it smart racing.
As most of you know, I coach volleyball and I play within the rules all of the time. What I do sometimes is work my team to get them in the best possible place within the rules that best helps them win. For example, my Boys Team was in a tournament last week and everyone in each group made the play-offs except the last place team. I looked at which teams were in my group and which teams were in the other group and assessed the teams and coaches.
Based on the modified tournament rules and play-off crossover I determined that I needed to finish 2nd in my group for a chance to get to the final. Once my team had secured 2nd spot I played the next 2 games with all of my weaker players to get them more experience and to not look that good in front of anyone that may be ‘watching’ my team. When it came time for playoffs I played my more skilled players and took other teams by surprise. While in the playoffs I then used the rules to my advantage by making substitutions, for example, at key moments in the game - not to better my team on the court but to disrupt the other team’s momentum. Time outs also did the same trick where I broke the other team’s momentum by freezing their server to get a side out for my team.
We made it to the Championship by the way, where we eventually lost to a better team than us. The team we lost to plays in a higher division than us and should have kicked our butts all over the floor, but we lost respectably. The other 2 teams we beat to get into the Championship game are also in the same higher division, but I used the rules to beat them. On paper we should have finished no better than 4th, but here we are in 2nd because we used the rules better than the other coaches.
What I did is no different than what he 48 team did. If they were racing under the old rules what makes you think that they wouldn’t have won anyway? I think they would have because they would have raced differently the whole season. Instead of concentrating on the last 10 races of the year they would have concentrated on all of the 36 races. All they had to do in the first 26 is stay close, which they did, and then dominate the last 10 races, which they did.
Jimmie Johnson deserves the Championship because out of all the other teams on the track every race, he and his team best adjusted to the rules and raced within them the best.
Does this mean I’m a fan of The Chase? If you are a consistent reader of this blog you’ll know that I’m not, but the rules are the rules and the team that races the best within them deserves the Championship and this year it was Jimmie Johnson and the rest of the 48 team.
You’ve got to give credit where credit is due, and it is due here - Congratulations Jimmie!
Photo Credit: AP Photo/Terry Renna
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