If you guessed Jimmie Johnson you’d be wrong. Instead it is Carl Edwards who, with nine wins, ultimately would have outpaced Johnson by 16 points.
That being said, Johnson likely would have been able to pull out the win if he had maintained a better position in Sunday’s race at Homestead. Because he was not in a close points battle with Edwards though, he elected not to take any chances and stayed out of the fight. Obviously if it would have meant the championship he would have worked to stay closer to the front.
So while the numbers are the numbers, take them with a grain of salt. What is it they say with the lottery, ‘for entertainment only, not for investment purposes.’ Well this is the same sort of thing.
So in the second of my posts on what the standings would have looked like without the Chase, here is your chance to see them after the season ending event.
Chase No-Chase
1. Jimmie Johnson 6684 1. Carl Edwards 5236
2. Carl Edwards 6615 2. Jimmie Johnson 5220
3. Greg Biffle 6467 3. Kyle Busch 4984
4. Kevin Harvick 6408 4. Greg Biffle 4747
5. Clint Bowyer 6381 5. Jeff Burton 4709
6. Jeff Burton 6335 6. Kevin Harvick 4691
7. Jeff Gordon 6316 7. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 4605
8. Denny Hamlin 6214 8. Jeff Gordon 4537
9. Tony Stewart 6202 9. Clint Bowyer 4487
10. Kyle Busch 6186 9. Tony Stewart 4487
11. Matt Kenseth 6184 11. Denny Hamlin 4439
12. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 6127 12. Matt Kenseth 4316
While this time around no one is in the exact same place they would have been without the Chase, there is a little more parity. Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson remain at the top of the standings, and Matt Kenseth, Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Greg Biffle and Jeff Burton are only one spot higher or lower then they would have been without the Chase. We do have two outliers this time with Kyle Busch seven places lower and Dale Jr. five places lower. Worth mentioning are Clint Bowyer and Denny Hamlin who are four (or five) places higher.
All in all, while we did end up with a switch at the top, the Chase as we discussed before did not really make a huge difference this season. Kyle Busch is the biggest loser, falling all the way back to 10th, however for the most part the cream rose to the top.
On a side-note, I just want to thank everyone for the support you have shown us since we began in April. We could not be where we are right now without you. As TC said in his end of season post last week, this blog has only enhanced my already immense enjoyment of the sport. Getting to talk with you all, whether we have agreed or disagreed has been a lot of fun.
It has been an interesting season and we look forward to blogging about all the latest news, rumors and off topic things we can think of throughout the off-season and into next year. And as always if you have any questions, concerns, or story suggestions please don’t hesitate to email me or TC.
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on Nov 17th, 2008 at 9:34 am
Thanks for taking on this project. It has been an interesting read this year and I look forward to more.
on Nov 17th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
The Chase has to go. It has produced a pseudo-champion three out of five years, and hasn’t delivered a more exciting or interesting product. Brian France is ruining NASCAR and ought to relinquish competitive control to the owners and drivers.
on Nov 17th, 2008 at 5:02 pm
My husband and I were just talking about this very issue, and a quick Google search brought us to your page. Thanks for working the numbers!
on Nov 18th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
Jimmy has not tied Cale Yarborough’s record- Cale won his titles without the chase format. So in reality Jimmy has not won 3 straight titles-
on Nov 18th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
It is like saying Cale Yarborough, or Richard Petty, or Dale Earnhardt won the Sprint Cup. No they didn’t. They won the “Winston” Cup! Their trophies don’t say “1979 Sprint Cup Champion”. That kind of nonsense drives me nuts!!!
Rest assured JJ is a great driver, and for all practical purposes would have won a Championship, or two, or three back in the day. But let’s not continually try to change history for the sake of the “current” title sponsor!
Just curious…did the announcers get fined for each offense of calling the “Nextel” cup the “Winston” cup that first year out??? Anyone know? Maybe they had a grace period, or a number of mulligan’s to work with, before getting slapped.
on Nov 19th, 2008 at 11:30 pm
You cannot compare the two. Who’s to say any of the people in the chase would have raced the same way? Who’s to say Jimmy wasn’t just points racing some of it?
It’s neat to think of what ifs but to think and the reality are usually two different things.