Under the rules as stated as NASCAR, I have no problem with Kyle Busch winning the Cup. I fully realize I'm in one camp while many others are in another. But as I see it, NASCAR set forth 5 criteria to be eligible for the chance at the title:
- attempt all the races (or get a waiver)
- win a race to get in final 16
- finish 1st 26 races in top 30 of points
- advance with a win or points in 3 'playoff rounds'
- finish ahead of 3 finalists in last race
Busch accomplished ALL of these things.
If anything, I think Kyle had a TOUGHER road to go vs. the others. He accomplished in 15 races what others had the opportunity to do in 26. Winning in Cup isn't easy - just look at my favorite 43 team's futility since 1993 and arguably before. There was no guarantee Busch would win one race much less multiple times upon his return. Matter of fact, I was very doubtful he could pull it off.
The angst most have towards Busch's title (and eligibility for it) IMO are 3-fold:
- He isn't a likable guy. Whether that'll change now that he is a Cup champion remains to be seen. Coach Gibbs even alluded to that fact on the post-race show last night. Hard to pull for a guy who doesn't exactly endear himself to the masses.
- Disdain for Toyota. I've never understood this either. What do folks want? A two-manufacturer series? Dodge ain't coming thru that door. As for Yota being a 'foreign' car make, we're talking CUSTOM BUILT race cars. About the only distinction between the 3 makes to me is a decal on the nose.
- A longing for the return of a season-long championship. I still think that model makes sense too. But that ain't the way it's played these days - and hasn't been for ELEVEN years.
I'm no fan of Rowdy Busch, but in my opinion he is ever bit the deserving champion as anyone else who won the title under the format that existed at that time.
I'm more convinced than ever that race fans are "situationally grounded". It's not right that X driver gets this deal. It's not fair that the points deal is structured thataway. Etc. Until your fave driver would be positively affected! Ha.
- Dale Jr was in an accident at Cali back in the spring. What if he'd been forced to miss 3-4 races because of a concussion. Think the Earnhardt Legion would have been screaming for a medical waiver to allow him to still compete for a title? Book it.
- Kurt Busch missed the first 3 races of the season. Yet he returned, won and advanced to the Chase. Because his brother missed 11 races, little was made of the fact that Kurt also didn't run all 26 races.
- I think we all know how I would have felt if Aric Almirola had won a race for Richard Petty Motorsports - esp early in the season - but was then sidelined for a few weeks for whatever reason. The Petty faithful would be screaming for a waiver.
- And Jeff Gordon may be my most vivid example. He was wiped out in a multi-car crash at Atlanta last spring....errr, winter. IF he had been concussed or suffered other injuries ... and IF he'd had to lay out a few weeks ... and IF he'd returned to win a race ... and IF he'd remained in the top 30 in points, well I think we all know where the public consensus would have taken us.
I realize I'm throwing out a lot of "IF" situations. After all, Kyle Busch IS the 2015 Cup champion. But I continue to ask questions such as:
- Is there an acceptable number of races Kyle could have missed and still been eligible to be in the final 16? He missed 11. Should he have only been allowed 1? How about 7?
- Is there an acceptable number of races he should've won to still been eligible? The dude won 4 of 15 starts. What if he'd REALLY gone on a tear and won 4 more? Would 8 wins in 15 starts been enough to put him into the final 16 - 2x more than the 48 and 20 won in the first 26?
I get how many want a return to the full season championship format. But that isn't what exists. Running all the races is not a prerequisite to determine the champion in today's Cup racing.
What HASN'T happened yet - and I'm guessing COULD happen - is the opposite scenario. What if a chase eligible driver gets hurt at Richmond and can't go in the final 10? Perhaps the rules address it - if so, I don't know about it. Could a replacement driver take a chase eligible car and still be in the mix for the Cup? Seems unlikely, but I really am unclear if it's possible or not.
I think it's fair to debate what we'd like to see as fans for the format of the schedule, the points system, etc. What I'm personally not going to do, however, is disregard the driver who came out on top with the format defined at the beginning of the year.
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Schaefer: It's not just for racing anymore.
