ESPN Search

The flaw in NASCAR's Chase format is the lack of an elimination system. Some drivers should be put out of their misery. Guess who Ed Hinton thinks that should be after Chicagoland.

I ran across what might be a monumental question for hard-core NASCAR fans while going over the transcripts of the postrace media conferences at New Hampshire. Would a grassroots champion heal your spirit, bring you back, restore your faith in NASCA...

When the 2011 Chase began, few would have picked Tony Stewart to win the championship. When he did, it just showed that the new (now old) way was the best way for NASCAR.

Let's not hand the Sprint Cup trophy to Tony Stewart just yet. We tried to give the championship to Denny Hamlin with two races to go in 2010 -- and look what happened.

Go all-out or nothing, the boss said, and Clint Bowyer did just that to nip teammate Jeff Burton at Talladega. Owner Richard Childress should be applauded for giving the fans a show.

They began the Chase tied for the top seed in NASCAR's playoff. Kevin Harvick is still No. 1, but Kyle Busch is in jeopardy at No. 9. Ah, fuel mileage strikes again.

Chad Knaus produces some of the fastest race cars anywhere. NASCAR likes to make sure he does it within the rules. It's that high-stakes game that is the real wild card in this year's Chase.

LOUDON, N.H. -- The other 11 drivers enter the Chase game-faced. Juan Pablo Montoya comes rollicking in, always running on the edge of laughing. If sheer cool can win a championship, Montoya is a lock. I've never seen a driver enter NASCAR's playoff...

It happens every autumn: The Yankees make a pennant run. Brett Favre makes another NFL start. And Jimmie Johnson makes his annual push for a Sprint Cup title.

Six stories in the 2009 Chase would resonate in both the motorsports community and the mainstream public. But only one outcome would truly rock NASCAR's world.

Carl Edwards spent the entire race Sunday trying to land a haymaker on Jimmie Johnson's chin. Edwards did his part with a win, but the vagaries of the Chase let JJ up off the canvas, writes Ed Hinton.

What's so special about the tiny Virginia racetrack shaped like a paper clip? It's old, it's odd, and it's got history oozing out of its cracks, writes Ed Hinton.