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2007 Countdown to the Championship added 6/24/2007
Jun 24, 2007 02:27:00
| Countdown to the Championship | | The NHRA POWERade Series is set to begin a new era in 2007 as it debuts the much-anticipated Countdown to the Championship.
Responding to the groundswell of fan interest in the unusually riveting championship races of the past two seasons, NHRA devised a comprehensive change to its points system to ensure that the Funny Car race in 2005 and the Top Fuel duel in 2006 will be the rule, rather than the exception.
In its simplest form, the Countdown breaks the $50 million, 23-event POWERade Series season up into three distinct sections: the 17-race Countdown to 8, the four-race Countdown to 4 and the two-race Countdown to 1.
After the 17 regular season races, only the top eight drivers advance into the first round of the playoffs with the top driver being assigned 2,070 points and each of the remaining drivers 10 fewer points each (eighth-place is assigned 2,000 points).
The Sunday format for the final six races will remain the same with full fields and with eight drivers in contention for the championship, those drivers eliminated from the Countdown will have more opportunity than ever before to play spoiler.
The top four drivers after the four-race playoff will have their points reassigned again in 10-point increments with the first-place driver receiving 3,030 and the fourth-place driver 3,000.
The championship will then be determined over the final two races – the ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals in Las Vegas and the Auto Club NHRA Finals in Pomona – with those final four drivers competing in full fields for the 2007 POWERade Series world championships.
The Countdown to the Championship is an inclusive program whereby more competitors will have a chance to win an NHRA POWERade world championship than ever before: Whereas historically only two to three cars were still in contention at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, held Labor Day weekend, now there will be eight cars at the NHRA’s most prestigious event with a legitimate chance to win the POWERade Series world championship.
This historic change in the NHRA championship point structure will add more excitement and drama to the entire season, and particularly in the late summer and fall as drivers jockey for position in the Countdown and ultimately for the championship.
It's a move that was precipitated by the overwhelming response from fans to the thrilling Funny Car race of 2005 and the historic ending to the 2006 Top Fuel season which saw Tony Schumacher win and set a national record on that memorable Sunday at the Auto Club Finals to pass Doug Kalitta and win his third straight title.
Viewing the enormous fan interest sparked by those two finishes against the backdrop of the historical unlikelihood of it occurring, the last two years made a strong argument for altering the points system to ensure that those incredible finishes would be the rule rather than the exception.
To illustrate that point, consider the average margins of victory in the NHRA’s three classes that run 23-event schedules this decade (from 2000-06): Top Fuel: 256.5; Funny Car: 221.3; Pro Stock: 378.7.
Beginning in 2007, the NHRA POWERade Series world champion in Top Fuel and Funny Car will receive a $100,000 countdown bonus making the total payout to win the POWERade world championship $500,000 in each category. In Pro Stock, the POWERade world champion will receive a countdown bonus of $50,000, making the total payout $250,000 and, in Pro Stock Motorcycle, the countdown bonus will be $25,000, making the total payout $75,000 to win the POWERade Series world championship. In addition to announcing the POWERade Countdown to the Championship, NHRA will increase the total year-end payouts for the top eight in the four professional categories to more than $2 million.
The format at all 23 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series national events will remain the same and feature competitors in the professional categories qualifying for spots in the 16-car fields for Sunday elimination rounds. |
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