BILL STEPHENS “IN THE GROOVE” 7/19/09

Robert went out early.

Mike, John and Ashley didn’t make it to the end of the day.

But Courtney did!

Wow, how cool was that? Courtney making it to her first career final round in Top Alcohol Dragster this weekend and outrunning Chris Demke in the finale to pick up her first career win. That was a perfect way to salvage what would have been a dismal weekend for JFR in Seattle.

Meanwhile, Ron Capps bumped Ashley down to second in the points by virtue of his semi-final finish with the Countdown to 10 down to four more events. (See my comments below). Mike and John are safely in the Top 10 at this point but Robert is 43 points out of 10th place and his first round loss on Sunday didn’t help in moving him closer to the next stage of the Countdown.

Which leads me to this editorial comment.

I’m a bit weary of hearing TV commentators, reading the race results published by the sport’s various print media, and encountering interviews with various pro drivers which deal with the “points lead”, “moving from 7th to 4th in the points”, or “having a shot at overtaking a driver just ahead of them for 3rd in the standings”. Here’s the deal:

THE MOST IMPORTANT AND RELEVANT POINT STATISTIC PERTAINING TO ANY PRO CATEGORY IS WHETHER OR NOT A DRIVER IS IN THE TOP TEN!

The points lead is essentially meaningless. Sure, it may give a team a bit of a psychological boost but there are no points awarded for how good a team feels about itself. Whether a driver is in 3rd, 5th, 7th or any other position in the Top 10 isn’t compelling, unless of course they are in danger of dropping out of the Top 10, or conversely, has a shot at moving into it. That is the reality that has become the rule of law since the Countdown format was established.

I acknowledge the points bonus that the points leader receives after Indy heading into the Countdown to 1. But it’s not a substantial bonus and all you have to do is ask Tim Wilkerson how much of an advantage it was for him last year when he dominated for the majority of the season, led the points for more weeks than anyone, and saw Cruz Pedregon slip past in the late going to overhaul him for the title.

Do you know who was the first driver to say publicly that the points lead is irrelevant under the new system and the only thing that really matters is making the Top 10 during the Countdown to 10? Yup, it was John. He grasped the significance of the new system immediately and you didn’t hear him beating the drum or going off on a wild tangent when Ashley led the points briefly. It has no bearing on the championship picture and I think it’s going to take a little more time for the long-time fans of the NHRA to adjust to the new reality.

So I’m encouraging everyone who covers the sport—TV, print, Internet, Twitter, Pont Express—you name it—to fight the temptation of making the points lead a bigger issue than it truly is in this era of the Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship. The old ways are gone and the new ways are upon us. Is there a dramatic fight for that last No. 10 points position? Now we have a story. Points lead? Not a big whoop.

It’s the third of three in a row out west this weekend in Sonoma, CA at the showplace facility in the heart of the Sonoma Valley, Infineon Raceway. After the race which wraps up this year’s Western Swing, I’ll have more from “In the Groove” right here at johnforceracing.com so don’t be a stranger and drop back this way after the race.

And please don’t forget to buckle the belts and drive safely.