ll the talk in drag racing circles these days is of “The Countdown.” It is what the NHRA is billing as the “Countdown to the Championship,” a new points structure instituted this year to ensure competitive, late season dramatics in the POWERade championship series.
     For over 30 years the NHRA points structure was a simple one: racers earned points at each national event based on qualifying position, elimination rounds won and any performance records set. The racer with the most points at the end of the season was crowned the champion. Easy.
     For 2007 the points chase has changed dramatically. It functions much as it has in the past until the conclusion of the 11th event of the 16-race Pro Stock Motorcycle season at Reading, Pennsylvania.
     After the Reading event only the top eight competitors in the professional classes were eligible to be in contention for the championship. Essentially, the top eight were given additional points to put them out of reach of the other competitors. The points were also normalized so there are only 10 points between riders to tighten the field. For reference, each elimination round of a national event is worth 20 points.
     This new points structure was influenced by the NASCAR championship points system instituted in 2005 that ensures that the championship is not locked up until late in the season.
     The NHRA system took it a step further. Three events after the first cut of eight, the field will be pared down again to where only the top four racers are eligible to battle for the championship during the last two events. Now the championship would remain undecided until the last race of the season.
     After both cutoffs the events proceed normally with the riders in the Countdown competing for event wins against the rest of the field.
     Traditionalists were upset that the system that was in place for decades was shelved. The NHRA countered that the new system would not only keep the championship open until late in the season but now in the middle of the season riders at the middle of the pack–and typically out of championship contention by that point–will gain additional media attention. Seems like a winning formula.
     So what do the racers feel about the new points structure? Andrew Hines has garnered the last three NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle Championships on the Screamin’ Eagle/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson V-Rod. With his brother Matt’s three championships they are the most successful family in the history of the sport.
     “I don’t care for it,” said Andrew of the Countdown. “The fans will be split. I think they will want to see what the best bike is over the course of the year. That is the way I won my championships. This is really a race for two championships,” he continued. “Strategy will play a lot into it. It will be interesting to see what happens after the cut.”
     Geno Scali, rider of the Performance Machine Suzuki and the 2003 champion, failed to make the first cut of eight. Scali is the only rider other than the Hines brothers and Angelle Sampey to win an NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle championship in the last decade. He is pragmatic about the Countdown.
“I had my reservations about it at first,” said Scali. “I thought it would be bad because after the eight are selected, riders would not show up for the remaining races. Also, racers in the lead at mid-season can coast a little like a boxer leading a fight and I feel the championship has to go to the team that works the hardest throughout the whole season.”
     “I thought about it a bit more and we really have to understand that we are in the entertainment business and this would be good for the fans,” he said. “There would be interest in the middle of the year. They bottom line is that these are the rules and everybody has the same chance. In life things change. You have to change with them.”
Chip Ellis, rider of the Drag Specialties/G-Squared Buell, has not yet claimed an NHRA championship although he has AMA/Prostar championships in SuperSport, Superbike and Funnybike. His approach to racing is unchanged by the Countdown.
     “It doesn’t change my strategy,” said Ellis. “I am just trying to win rounds. The way I look at it if you win the most rounds at every point in the season then at the end of the year you will win the championship. We are trying to run the best we possibly can, every round of every race. There is too much to worry about to worry about strategy.”
     Ellis did however see the silver lining in the Countdown as it gives him a second chance to catch former teammate Matt Smith who owned a large point lead on his Torco Buell going into the first cutoff race at Reading. “Now I am happy because Matt Smith has built up such a huge lead it would be impossible to catch him,” said Ellis.
At the 2/3 mark of the season, The Countdown did what it was advertised to do–make the racing more compelling. Going into Reading five spots were mathematically open with three in serious play and it went down to the semifinals before the field was set. Normally the Reading event would have no serious implications on the points chase.
     Smith looked to be a runaway this season with a 183 point advantage going into Reading but now holds only a 10 point lead over three-time champ Angelle Sampey.
So now the NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle competitors are set for “season two.” Hang on, because it is guaranteed to come down to the wire!

Andrew Hines

Gino Scali

Chip Ellis