SUSAN WADE: LET'S FIX FLAWED COUNTDOWN ONE MORE TIME -- WHY NOT?

Six of the top 10 nitro-class drivers lost in the first round of the NHRA Carolinas Nationals at zMax Dragway at Concord, N.C.

For three of the four points leaders, it was like a punch to the gut. With some thoughtful restructuring, the homestretch of the season could become exciting without being exclusive.

It hardly seems fair that a driver could perform well all season and mount a decent lead, only to have it dissolved in less than 10 seconds. That happened more than once Sunday at Charlotte, and that's just this year's damage.

Six of the top 10 nitro-class drivers lost in the first round of the NHRA Carolinas Nationals at

zMax Dragway at Concord, N.C.

For three of the four points leaders, it was like a punch to the gut. With some thoughtful restructuring, the homestretch of the season could become exciting without being exclusive.

First-round Funny Car casualty Tim Wilkerson said, "At the time, I thought it might really be ugly for us in terms of the Countdown, but we obviously weren't the only ones who missed the call. One by one, other Countdown cars started to go out, and it ended up not nearly as awful as it could've been."

But it was plenty disheartening for Antron Brown (Top Fuel), Jeg Coughlin (Pro Stock), and Eddie Krawiec (Pro Stock Motorcycle). They lost their longstanding leads. So understandably, their enthusiasm for the hastily announced new point system might have waned.

Tony Pedregon might have stashed away his pom-poms, too, for he clings to his Funny Car lead by a single point over Ashley Force Hood.

Coughlin, despite running his best elapsed time of the weekend, took his first opening-round loss of the year against Jason Line and yielded the Pro Stock points lead on which he had an iron grip for the last 14 races of the so-called "regular season."

"We got behind early and were playing catch-up all weekend and it came back to bite us in the end," Coughlin said. Maybe so, but the system shouldn't have taken such a gigantic chunk from him.

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When the NHRA reset the points after the Indianapolis race, reigning Pro Stock Motorcycle champion Krawiec offered this grimly comical observation: "I lost more points than I weigh." Indeed, Krawiec, who weighs barely 150 pounds, lost 156 points to start the six-race playoffs that move this weekend to the Texas Motorplex near Dallas with the O'Reilly SuperStart Batteries Fall Nationals.

And by losing in the first round, Brown gave up his points lead to event winner Cory McClenathan. He has to share the No. 2 position with Tony Schumacher, who went one round farther than Larry Dixon and leapfrogged him in the standings.

Ron Capps, who had begun the year so strong, dropped from second to fourth place in the Funny car order, as Force Hood advanced to the semifinal and moved to within one point of leader Tony Pedregon as she tries to become the first woman to win a Funny Car championship.

"A lot of the top contenders struggled a little, and we were able to do a little better and move from third to second. It will all change around," she said.

And disappointed Funny Car quarterfinal finisher Bob Tasca III self-reassuringly said, "You're not going to win a championship in one race."

That was true. Nor has anyone lost the championship yet.

But the format certainly helped Robert Hight, who got some controversial help to squeak into the final open Funny Car berth for the Countdown. Using his first victory since the 2008 U.S. Nationals and four bonus points, Hight vaulted from the No. 10 spot to third, just 27 points out of second place and 28 out of the lead in the AAA of Southern California Ford Mutang.

Mike Neff, his John Force racing teammate, said, "Robert Hight is the favorite to win the whole thing. It is all about hitting your stride at the right time. (He) could be the points leader after the next race. The Countdown can benefit you and hurt you. For Robert and guys like myself who are down towards the bottom of the points, the Countdown is a great thing."

Is it, really?

Neff is 100 percent right about Sunday's results. But suppose the NHRA didn't have a Countdown. Suppose the NHRA erased the restriction on how many can race for the championship -- have no cutoff, and, essentially, no Countdown -- but still reset the points, still giving the "regular-season" winner the 20-point bonus.

Let's say the NHRA also should keep the 3-2-1 qualifying point bonuses.

While the NHRA is at it, it might as well throw in a novel proposition from Schumacher.

"I kind of wish they did one more thing. I kind of wish that on race day, low E.T. of each round got points," Schumacher said. Why not? That would eliminate the need for team orders and avert controversy, as entertaining as the Indianapolis rumble might have been to everybody but John Force and Tony Pedregon.

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Aside from the fact the Countdown smacks of socialism, slowing down the leaders and letting the laggards have a fresh run at the lead, it arguably has its merits. But why in three years of existence has the Countdown been tweaked so many times? Maybe it's because it wasn't a well-planned idea from the beginning. However, if the NHRA simply used a post-U.S. Nationals points system that included Schumacher's proposal, it would be plenty exciting. The No. 10 or 11 or 12 driver might not win the title, but he or she might have some incentive to perform better for a more respectable finish in the standings.

That would be even more inclusive. It would allow drivers such as Cruz Pedregon and Matt Hagan in Funny Car, Joe Hartley and Terry Haddock in Top Fuel, Warren Johnson and Larry Morgan in Pro Stock, and Steve Johnson and Junior Pippin in Pro Stock Bikes to participate and perhaps improve their season finish significantly.

Hagan's runner-up performance Sunday was proof that a No. 12 driver still can be competitive. It's a shame that he had to be correct when he said, "Obviously, it's one race too late." His excitement was clear as he added, "We want to go some rounds and try to get the Wally in each race that is left. If this is a sign of what's coming in the next five races, I sure am excited. I started driving the way I wanted to drive and Tommy (crew chief DeLago) said, 'Hey, go do your thing up there,' gave me the reins, and I tried to run with it. To be a rookie out here I'm tickled with that. I'm very disappointed that we didn't win, because I know we have the race car to do it. I know it's going to happen. We have five more races to do it."

That's not the sound of a driver who wants to give up. After all, Hagan was at Charlotte instead of home at Christiansburg, Va., where his wife Rachel is about to give birth any time to their second child and first daughter, Penny Louise.

With the playoff system proposed here, Hagan could have been making a stronger case for rookie of the year and maybe securing a much-needed new sponsor. A company contemplating NHRA involvement naturally would rather sponsor a recognized top-five or at least top-10 driver than simply a hopeful. So the NHRA could help these struggling drivers without investing an extra dime with a revamped system.

So far this yet-again-revised system with the qualifying bonus points hasn't hurt Mike Edwards and his Young Life/A.R.T. Pontiac GXP Pro Stock team and Hector Arana and his Lucas Oil Buell Pro Stock Motorcycle team. Each seized the lead in his class with the victory.

Edwards jumped from third place, validating his fourth victory in nine finals and NHRA-best 11 top-qualifying positions. In qualifying he earned 10 of a maximum 12 bonus points and said, "Anytime you can pick up 18 points going into first round, that's big. It's almost a full round. It's going to tighten things up, that's for sure." He already had taken over second place by the close of qualifying.

Arana has been steamrolling through his field like a playground bully with three victories in the last four races, four triumphs in as many final rounds, and a 24-9 round-win record. "At first, I was skeptical about the new points system," he said, "but at this first event it has worked in my favor. I just gained nine points on Eddie [Krawiec], so I'm loving it."

In Top Fuel, the leading four drivers are separated by about one round of racing. "Now, that's tight," Schumacher said. "But, I didn't expect it would be any different. It's going to be a war right to the final round in Pomona. Whoever wins this thing will have earned it big-time."

Top Fuel rookie Shawn Langdon benefited big-time at Charlotte, too, moving up three places from eighth to fifth. "It's unreal to think we're one race into the playoffs and we're right there near the top of the points," he said.

It's real, Shawn, as much as some of your fellow drivers might regret.

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SUSAN WADE: LET'S FIX FLAWED COUNTDOWN ONE MORE TIME -- WHY NOT?