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As long as I can tune in on Saturdays and Sundays and be entertained by what is on the screen in front of me, as long as whatever rules are thrown at drivers are fair and everyone plays under the same ones, as long as there are personalities in the garage area, as long as the money holds up enough for the sport to broadcast on channels on my feed...

...what do I care? I'm a race fan, and will watch no matter what.

Whether I like or dislike the Chase is irrelevant. Every driver plays within the same rules, and though some may believe having a huge points lead erased is a sin, I can't help but find it entertaining. Manufactured or not, Freshgeek has the right idea when comparing it to other pro sports. I watched the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames turn decent seasons into Stanley Cup Final appearances - my team, the Detroit Red Wings, would be Stanley Cup Champs pretty much for the last ten years had they been giving it out on President's Cup winners. That wouldn't have been nearly as exciting as watching the underdogs go for the Cup, even when all three teams eventually came one game short.

My favourite driver would have won two championships since 2004 under the old system, had the Chase not been implemented. Still, the debate rages on - Jeff Gordon would not have raced the same way throughout a season's worth of races if he had known that a 26-race barrier was coming, exactly like Tony Stewart knew full-well going into 2009 that though he had a new team, the main idea was to win and get ahead for bonus Chase points.

Everyone plays under the same umbrella. It's not like the Chase is some unforecasted tornado that comes and kills your cows and topples your farm. Teams knew it was coming, and raced for those bonus points where they could.

You can call yourself a hardcore fan and despise it, and turn your beloved sport off, or you can call yourself a hardocre fan and keep watching, if only to see your favourite driver succeed at beating a driver you hate.

*shrugs*

Everyone who doesn't like The Chase as pretty much said already what I would have said. I was skeptical of The Chase at first. I gave it a try with an open-mind, but find myself preferring the old format. That's all there is to it.

No, and if Kyle Busch and Ron Hornaday win the N'Wide & Truck championships by a huge margin, there's a better chance he'll just implement the Chase there.