In NASCAR, finishing first can take a back seat to simply finishing (Contra Costa Times)

Points-racing format keeps drivers focused on staying in the Chase rather than going for broke By Liz Clarke WASHINGTON POST Whether the NASCAR racer in question is Tom Cruise in the over-dramatized "Days of Thunder" or Will Ferrell in the over-the-top "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby," the popular image of superstar stock-car racers is a guy who risks it all -- life, livelihood and common sense -- in the hair-raising battle to get to Victory Lane. But in reality, NASCAR drivers know ...