Gluck: Fighting, emotion give NASCAR Chase it wanted

CONCORD, N.C. – The chaos of the post-race garage at Charlotte Motor Speedway had just subsided when a group of people – team officials, crew members, media and fans – gathered around a portable monitor.
Just steps from the team haulers where Matt Kenseth and Brad Keselowski fought and where Keselowski was confronted by Denny Hamlin, the crowd watched a replay of the melee.
Once the video rolled, their faces did not show signs of shock or disapproval. Rather, the reactions were of the did-you-see-that, holy-cow, that-was-crazy variety.

NASCAR is fun again – at least it was on Saturday night – and it's all because of the revamped Chase for the Sprint Cup.
When drivers are frustrated, angry and upset and do uncharacteristic things (such as Kenseth, one of the series' most soft-spoken drivers, jumping a competitor) and show their emotions (such as the usually buttoned-up Jimmie Johnson screaming at crew chief Chad Knaus on the team radio), NASCAR fans win. It's entertaining for just about everyone – unless you're one of the people directly involved.

That emotion from the drivers stems from the new Chase format. By creating three-race mini-seasons with eliminations (three rounds plus a championship race), NASCAR has dramatically increased the pressure on each race.
With so much on the line at Charlotte – a win meant a free pass for the volatile Talladega Superspeedway race and teams needed as many points as possible to avoid sinking into the elimination zone – drivers raced as if their entire seasons were at stake.
That's exactly what NASCAR wants.
The Chase worked at Charlotte, and in doing so it generated several highlight-reel moments.

How many years will fans see the replay of Kenseth attacking Keselowski or Tony Stewart backing his car into the No. 2 on pit road? Given Jeff Gordon's shove of Kenseth in 2006 at Bristol Motor Speedway is still replayed, the guess is Charlotte will be remembered for a long time.
The downside for the sport is NASCAR is about to lose some serious star power. After Dale Earnhardt Jr., Johnson or Keselowski are eliminated next week – two of them will likely be cut and possibly all three – some fans will rip the new format.
What's a playoff without NASCAR's most popular driver? Or a defending and six-time champion? Or the 2012 titlist who isn't shy about sharing his views on how the sport can be improved? It won't please many.

But that's the price NASCAR must be willing to pay to help it reach a goal set when the format was changed: get more TV viewers.
With the exception of the Gordon/Clint Bowyer fracas at Phoenix International Raceway in 2012, the pressure of points racing in the Chase in its first 10 years often seemed like a grim march toward the season finale.
Even the race winner would sometimes get out of the car and look like he was headed for a root canal. A win only meant points then; now, it means security, peace of mind and a free trip to the next round.