Roush calls for mulligan, but his ace says Chase can putt along as is

There is a distinct possibility Jimmie Johnson could have his third consecutive Sprint Cup locked up before the season finale at Homestead, Fla.

As it is, all Johnson needs to do in the final three races is finish ninth or better and, no matter where Carl Edwards or Greg Biffle wind up at Texas, Phoenix and Homestead, Johnson will have his three-peat.

The lack of drama is certainly not what NASCAR intended when it created the Chase format five years ago.

But just as it is in any sport, when a team dominates the way Johnson and Co. have in the postseason, there isn't a system in the world that will deny ultimate success.

Johnson's performance has generated more talk about tweaking the Chase in hopes of eliminating runaways like this season's.

Edwards' crew chief, Bob Osborne, and car owner Jack Roush think it's something NASCAR should examine.

"I don't think NASCAR wants to see their championship won by this many points, for sure," Osborne said. "I don't want to see it won by this many points. I don't think anybody wants to see it won by this many points, so if they come up with a format that can adjust this and make the Chase even that much more competitive, that would be wonderful."

Carl Edwards doesn't believe any change is needed to the Chase format. (Getty Images)

Roush believes each Chase driver should receive one free pass during the 10 race playoff run and throw out the worst finish of the schedule.

"For teams like ours that have the success we've had, that's what we want to go back and (remember) about 2008 -- think about our championship run and what it meant," Roush said after Edwards won Sunday in Atlanta, only to remain 183 behind in the Chase after Johnson's runner-up finish.

"But, unfortunately, I think it will come down to thinking about the broken engine parts, the ignition and the other frustrations we've had. But it would be my suggestion as NASCAR looks at how to make this (Chase) more exciting, (that) every team had an opportunity to throw out one race and be able to just count nine of the 10.

"That means you could have a mulligan, and you could be able to come back from it."

But Edwards disagrees with his boss and, despite benefiting from a system that would include a mulligan, thinks the Chase format is fine as is.

"You have to be careful because next year we might have a 183-point lead. I think it depends," Edwards said.

"It's just the way it's going. Jimmie has performed extremely well. In the races where we haven't broke something or wrecked, we've performed just as well. ... I don't believe there needs to be any change. I think it's a pretty good format."

For the record, NASCAR doesn't think much of the mulligan idea, either.

"I don't see that happening," NASCAR spokesman Kerry Tharp said. "To say you're not going to count a performance would be akin to one of the teams in the World Series having a poor performance and throwing that out."

While the Tampa Bay Rays would welcome that possibility, neither Major League Baseball nor NASCAR will be going this route anytime soon.

Garage chatter

• There are pretty good point battles going on in the other two NASCAR top divisions, and both will be in action this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. Edwards' win in Memphis last Saturday pulled him to within 116 points of Clint Bowyer in the Nationwide Series standings with only three races to go. Edwards won for the fifth time this season and cut 80 points out of Bowyer's advantage. Things are even tighter in the Craftsman Truck Series, where veteran Johnny Benson is on top of defending series champion Ron Hornaday by a mere 31 points with three races left. Hornaday was the winner at Texas in June at the series' first visit to the 1½-mile speedway.

• The dismal economic picture has already started to take its toll in the world of NASCAR. Several sources have reported as many as 750 to 1,000 employees from various Sprint Cup, Nationwide and truck series teams will be released the Monday after the Homestead weekend season finales. DEI, faced with the prospect of shrinking from four to one full-time team in 2009, is poised to lay off as many 100 people if necessary. And according to Felix Sabates, part owner of Chip Ganassi's NASCAR operation, seven or eight teams from this year's Cup roster won't be in business in 2009.

• Kyle Petty may not have a Sprint Cup ride in 2009 now that the family business of Petty Enterprises has reportedly decided to go with Bobby Labonte and Chad McCumbee as its driver lineup next season, but his driving career will continue. Petty tested a Grand American Sports Car Series Daytona Prototype this week at Daytona in preparation for next January's Rolex 24. But Petty has his sights set on doing more than the annual twice-around-the-clock endurance race.

"We're trying to put something together to run not only the 24 hours, but all year long," Petty said. "Obviously, I'm in a place with the Cup stuff where I don't really have a ride right now. I've always said this is where I want to be. When I came here the first time, I said to run the Grand-Am division would be the next step up. I don't want to go back to Nationwide, I don't want to run the Trucks, that's a step down from the Cup Series. But this is a step over. I wouldn't look to this as a step down, this is a step to the top level of road racing."

NASCAR stars like Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Stewart have competed in the series over the years, and last year Richard Childress entered the series as a co-owner. The series is poised for more NASCAR crossover next season and with it potential for additional growth.