Chase causes stress, but ends need for perfect season
By BRANT JAMES
Published November 23, 2004
HOMESTEAD - Kurt Busch was physically and emotionally spent when he crawled out of his car Sunday.
Mark Martin called it - for the umpteenth time - the absolute hardest thing he has ever done in racing.
The Chase for the Championship unfurled exactly how NASCAR envisioned, with hard racing and jagged nerves escalating through each of the 10 playoff races.
At various points during the season-ending race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday, Busch, the eventual champion, was as many as 70 points off the lead. Later in the race, he, runnerup Jimmie Johnson and third-place finisher Jeff Gordon were within nine of each other. Martin, who finished fifth in the standings, led a lap and gained five bonus points during a pit cycle.
While drivers might feel like the Chase has shaved years off their lives, it could add years to their careers. The perfect season no longer is needed to win a championship, just a top-10 season and a hot finish.
"I think it's going to add some longevity to the drivers' careers, especially if you don't get off to a good start in the season," said Johnson, who won eight races, four of the last six, but finished second to Busch by eight points. "The top five guys at least don't have to worry about points like they did in the past. That's something that Jeff has brought to my attention. This year has been one of the better years for competing for a championship. You didn't have that yearlong stress to worry about. I look at that and I think that that is going to be good for years to come."
Coveted big-city television ratings suggest the system is here for a while.
NBC drew 5.6 percent of viewers from the 56 largest markets, according to Nielsen Media Research Inc.
The Homestead race earned a 3.8 big-city figure last season, probably because Matt Kenseth had clinched the title the week before.
The 5.6 rating was the best ever for NASCAR against Sunday afternoon NFL games. The high was 4.7 for the 2003 EA Sports 500 from Talladega.
National ratings are to be released next week.
CHANGES: Hendrick Motorsports announced Monday a restructuring of its crew chief assignments that will reunite Brian Vickers with former Busch series crew chief Lance McGrew on the No.25 Chevrolet team.
Besides McGrew, Jim Long , Peter Sospenzo , who was Vickers' crew chief this season, lead engineer Alan Gustafson and team manager Brian Whitesell will have new roles.
Gustafson, a 29-year-old Ormond Beach native, will crew chief the No.5 Chevrolet in Nextel Cup, which will be driven by Kyle Busch , the Busch series runnerup and rookie of the year.
Long will be crew chief of the No.5 Busch series entry, which does not yet have a driver.
McGrew is reunited with Vickers, with whom he won the 2003 Busch championship.
Sospenzo will take the crew chief role on Terry Labonte 's No.44 Cup team, which will run a 10-race schedule as part of Labonte's two-year phase out.
Whitesell assumes duties as the newly created team manager for the Vickers, Busch and Labonte's Cup programs, which will be housed together in a new shop scheduled to open before the 2005 season. Whitesell served in the same capacity for Gordon and Johnson at Hendrick this season.
Shop foreman Mark Thoreson and lead engineer Darian Grubb will share Whitesell's former duties with the Gordon and Johnson teams.
SPARK PLUGS: Champ Car intends to run a street race in San Jose, Calif., on July 31 if a promotional package can be finalized.
