QUESTIONS & ATTITUDE

Compelling questions ... and maybe a few actual answers

With the dust cleared, how did “stage racing” work out?

In the end, it seems easier to appreciate than it was to understand. At a few different points along the way, a TV commentator spent a couple of laps explaining how the bonus system fit into the normal points system — nothing should be that complicated. Stage racin’ was designed to create more action in the middle stages of each race and, importantly, reward the drivers who got up front and stayed there more often than others.

Is that how Truex won it all?

Not directly. He obviously won the championship by winning Homestead. But it was his large pile of bonus points that lessened any stress he may have had regarding his advancement to Homestead as one of the final four. The competitors took note of this, naturally, and will work hard to employ that strategy as often as possible once the green flies in 2018. Here’s a tip: It helps to have the best car on a near-weekly basis.

What’s next on the news wires?

It’s a bit of “inside baseball,” but we’ll now watch the shuffling of team charters to see who’s buying, who’s selling, and who’s leasing. Sorta like stages and bonus points, the whole charter system was done for simplification, but has inherent confusions. That’s racin’, you could say. There seems to be more charters (36) than funded teams, so this could get interesting. And oh, by the way, Kurt Busch is still in limbo.