This statement is the reason why people hate the Chase. The first 26 races are more important than the last 10? There is something wrong with that logic. The TV networks proved it, though because after Race 26 nobody watched. Another reason is the leaders points lead is totally wiped out, no matter how far ahead he is. That’s ridiculous.

“Johnson – even despite his Texas hiccup — would have pulled away under the old points system.”

How can you say this? He was over 200 points behind after Race 26 and won by less than 100 points under the old system. And there is no way Stewart loses that huge lead with 10 races to go. He’s too good a driver for that and knows how to points race. Like you said, he would have raced differently and we wouldn’t be calling Jimmie the 4 time champ, legend, best driver of all time, or whatever other superlative you want to give him.

Remove or keep the asterisks, I don’t really care, but please keep Jimmie Johnsons accomplishments in perspective. He has been the best at the last 10 races for the last 4 years. This does not make him a legend, best of all time, or whatever else the media wants to annoint him

Good point, though. I’m not a huge fan of the Chase, but the asterisk idea is absurd. How many different point systems and race schedules, affecting the number of races and number of miles driven, have been changed over the years? You could practically make an argument for an asterisk on EVERY championship.