The results show that two of the Top 3 scoring drivers in the final 10 races of 2003-Elliott and Stewart-would not have been in the race for the title.
Kenseth's average finish was a 17 during the final stretch to pick up 1,058 points. He began the last 10 races with a comfortable 418-point lead over Earnhardt Jr., gained with one win and high finishes almost every week. He drove to not only score points, but to protect his lead and his car and be around to take the checkered flag at the end of the day.
If Kenseth hadn't been conservative in those final races, he may well have had a stronger finish in 2003. Recall that in 2002 he won five Winston Cup races-more than any driver that year-and finished the season Eighth. His '02 season was almost a mirror to the '03 performance of Newman, who also won more races than any other driver but finished the season Sixth overall.
Newman says he is concerned about team tactics and team orders as the season comes to an end. It is possible that drivers out of the championship hunt could "help" cars from the same stable that are in a position to win the title.
"I'll help Jimmie if I can," says Gordon. "And I assume he'll help me. We already do that, allowing one or the other to pick up the five bonus points."
"I think you'll see us working together when we can," says Doug Richert, crewchief for Greg Biffle's No. 16 National Guard/Subway Ford, one of five cars owned by Jack Roush.
"We already work together," adds Richert. "And if we have an opportunity to help another Roush driver without hurting us, we'll do it. When one Roush driver does well, we all benefit. But we'd never do something like block another car. And I think NASCAR will be watching for things like that."
"I hope it doesn't happen," Newman adds. "And if it does, I hope NASCAR can police it."
NASCAR president Mike Helton doesn't anticipate a problem. "We're mindful of that," he says about possible team tactics. "We have been having dialogue personally with team owners who were involved in the points battle towards the end of last season . . . so far we have not seen it be a factor on the racetrack, but if it becomes one, we'll react to it."
Reacting. That has been NASCAR's mantra with its new points system, the reason it was changed.
"Our goal is to create more interest in the sport," says France. "It is to make racing better. Our goal is to give more drivers a chance at the championship . . . this plan is going to do this. I think you will see in September and October, all the way down the home stretch . . . you will see that more drivers are going to be racing harder and competing more, and that's how we're going to judge if it's successful or not."
That-and how the numbers play out on calculators and spreadsheets in November.
Some Bloom, Others Fade
Here's a look at how some of the top scoring drivers of 2003 fared during the final 10 races of the season: