Busch Touts Talladega As Final Race Before The Chase

Asked today what changes he would make to the 2015 schedule, former NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Kurt Busch said he would swap the final event of the regular season and the opening race of the Chase, creating a high-stakes regular season finale at Talladega Superspeedway.

“Could I be president for the day and decide what we're going to do?” laughed Busch. “Maybe we should put Richmond in the Chase and use Talladega as the cutoff to get in. We're all driving around (at Talladega) very tentative and trying not to get in a wreck. But why not make it the final race to get in and throw a huge Wild Card in to try to make it into the Chase?

“By then, you have 15 guys that are pretty much locked in,” he added. “That means those top 15 guys are going to throw it all on the line to try to win. They're not going to be riding in the back to protect their points.

“I would change Richmond and Talladega, and it works because (International Speedway Corporation) owns both those tracks.”

The Stewart Haas Racing driver also suggested putting the season finale up for bid, much like the Super Bowl, World Series and Olympic Games; changing the venue each season.

“I think the final race should be bid on by a committee,” he said. “There's a committee that goes around and it gets filled in on who does the best job with their community to present themselves as the frontrunner to have the Super Bowl. Why not do that with our final stock car race?”

He also advocated a periodic reshuffling of the Chase schedule, saying, “I think Chicago is a great place to start it off. Those Chase races are valuable. And we could mix it up and change some of the races that are in the Chase.”