Posted by Terry Blount
RICHMOND, Va. -- Win, you're in.
That's the format NASCAR should have for the Chevy Rock and Roll 400 Saturday night at Richmond, the final race to decide the Chase drivers.
David Ragan and Kasey Kahne are hoping to gain enough points to grab the 12th and final spot for the 10-race playoff.
If winning a race was one criterion to make it, Kahne already would be in the Chase and Ragan could guarantee himself a spot by winning the race. So could a lot of guys who have no chance of making the Chase.
Drivers would enter this event knowing they could make the playoffs if they earned a victory.
That rule would require one addendum. The driver has to rank in the top 20 when the Richmond race ends. A guy couldn't win the second race of the season and skip the rest of the year before the Chase begins.
If this plan was in place, Brian Vickers, Martin Truex Jr., Jamie McMurray, Kurt Busch and Elliott Sadler all would start the Chevy Rock and Roll 400 knowing the Chase was within their grasp. All they had to do was win the show. No easy task, but a realistic option.
And a few drivers who rank outside the top 20 going in -- Juan Pablo Montoya, Bobby Labonte, Travis Kvapil -- also would have at shot at it because winning the race might move them into the top 20.
So instead of having two drivers outside the top 12 with a chance to make the Chase, at least eight drivers would have a chance to make the playoffs if they won the race.
If one of those eight winless drivers went to Victory Lane at Richmond, the Chase this year would start with 16 drivers instead of 12.
Dodge officials would love it. If Kahne doesn't move up to earn a top-12 spot at Richmond, the Chase won't have a Dodge driver. If winning was a way to get in, Dodge already would have three guaranteed spots with Kahne, Newman and Kurt Busch.
NASCAR made winning more important by seeding the Chase drivers based on victories. But a win-you're-in scenario would make this race a lot more fun.
