I hate new rules.  Why on earth it is necessary to change something that works perfectly fine is a mystery to me.  Case in point....Countdowns. What the crap? 

Okay, so I have to go along with it.  NHRA rules, meaning their regulations not their leadership skills.

Countdown to Eight:  Seventeen races that will determine which driver/car/crew chief is almost the best. After the seventeen races, the points leader’s points are reset to within 10 points of each other and they start the countdown to four.

We had the following list after the first 17 races, going into the US Nationals (Round 1 – Countdown to Four):

All of the drivers can race, but they must compete with the almost best, knowing that these top eight are slightly better than they are.  This in itself would make me too angry to race.  

Winners for the US Nationals (Round 1-Countdown to Four)were:

Top Fuel – Tony Schumacher (W) vs Larry Dixon (L)
Funny Car – Mike Ashley (W) vs Robert Hight (L)
Pro Stock – Dave Connelly (W) vs Greg Anderson (L)
Pro Stock Bike – Craig Treble (W) vs Matt Smith (L)

Round 2 – (9/14-9/16)O’Reilly Mid-South Nationals – Memphis Tennessee
Round 3 – (9/20-9/23)O’Reilly NHRA Fall Nationals – Dallas Texas
Round 4 – (10/5-10/7)Torco Racing Fuels NHRA Nationals – Richmond Virginia

After these races the top 4 points leaders (out of the original 8) will have their points reset to within 10 points of each other AGAIN to start the “Countdown to Two”. More on that later.  Check back in this article for the results of the next 3 races.  That's that.  Now I need a rest...think I'll go for a drive.     –Nitro13