Points system change unlikely

Four drivers went into the series' finale at Homestead last weekend with a mathematical possibility of winning the championship. However critics said that it realistically would have meant a disastrous round from eventual winner Tony Stewart if anyone else was to win the title.

Other options have been suggested for scoring the 10-race, 10-driver playoff, including the possibility of using a separate points system just for the 10 Chase contenders themselves.

However, NASCAR chairman Brian France reckons the current system, introduced in 2004, provides a tight enough contest.

"We'd always like it to be closer, but it really is close enough for us," France said. "The perfect scenario would be all 10 guys within 25 points of each other. But I don't think we would go to a separate points system because part of the beauty of this is that you still have to beat 33 others."

Other ideas to improve the Chase have been suggested, including a knock-out system where the lowest ranking Chase driver is eliminated each week to set up a two-driver shoot out at the final race of the season. However, France admitted that any change would be small.

"We hear ideas all the time that we could consider," France added. "We are going to look at the Chase when the season clears, but my sense of it is that it isn't going to be anything more than a small adjustment."