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CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- When William Byrons engine exploded less than 10 laps away from his seventh win of the season, his chance to race for the Truck Series championship blew up in a puff of white smoke.It was one of those bad breaks that happen every week at every level in auto racing. But when it happens to the most dominant driver in a series and ruins his title aspirations, it ignites a debate about the fairness -- flaws, maybe? -- of the elimination-style playoffs NASCAR now uses in all three of its series.Brad Keselowski was particularly upset about Byrons misfortune, even though Keselowski fields rival trucks. He described himself as mad and disappointed for Byron, and said the elimination format has effectively traded excellence for entertainment.Keselowski learned how harsh the system can be in 2014, its debut year at the Sprint Cup level. He won six races that year, but one bad day at Martinsville led to his elimination from the playoffs after the third round. Keselowski had been worthy of a spot in the finale, but he didnt earn one of the slots.Same goes Jeff Gordon that first year. He won four times in 2014 and should have raced for the title. Like Keselowski, he was bounced out of the third round.Joey Logano should have made the finale last year but didnt. Same goes for Matt Kenseth, who was two laps away from victory Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway until a caution created a series of events that caused him to crash. He was all but assured of a slot in this weekends finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway one moment, last in the Chase standings the next.There have been arguments about the Chase since it was first introduced in 2004. Fans felt it was contrived and that the traditional season-long point champion was the truest way to decide a title. The format has been tinkered with several times since, but its most radical adjustments came three years ago when NASCAR implemented eliminations. That format this year was brought to both the Xfinity Series and Truck Series for the first time.Every sport has upsets and underdogs. Every sport has a Cinderella story every now and then that drums up interest. NASCAR very much needed that element when it introduced the Chase, and chairman Brian France has long trumpeted the desire to have his sport in a position to create Game 7 moments.The entire country talked for days about the seventh game of the World Series and the Chicago Cubs dramatic victory. Any leader in their right mind would want that same nail-biting tension for their sport. They want to see crushing defeats, career-defining victories, magical moments.So no matter what longtime fans believe, France did the absolute right thing in creating the Chase. Yes, people claim they stopped watching NASCAR because of the Chase. They blame Brian France for turning to gimmicks over tradition, claim the Chase has ruined the sport they once loved.Well, those people are clinging to a past that is never coming back. NASCAR has plenty of problems and NASCAR does many things incorrectly, but the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship is not one of them.The Chase in its first year had five drivers eligible to win the title. It pitted teammates Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson against each other in one of the fiercest championship battles in NASCAR history. The Chase in 2011 produced a magnificent finale in which Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards ended the championship tied with Stewart getting the trophy on a tiebreaker.The elimination element has raised the pressure and forced drivers to answer the call when the season is on the line. Kevin Harvick twice won must-win races in 2014 on his way to the title, Joey Logano has done it twice this year alone, including Sunday when his victory put him in the finale.It is absolutely true that the final four drivers will not always represent the most deserving teams. Byron learned that the hard way in the Truck Series inaugural Chase. The most dominant teams dont always deliver when the pressure is at its highest; although Harvick had performed time and again when his back was against the wall, Stewart-Haas Racing couldnt come up with the dominating performance it needed Sunday for him to advance.Thats called sports, and theres nothing contrived about it.Its not always fair, but sports are the greatest reality programming out there. Anything can happen -- and did to Kenseth at Phoenix! -- and thats why we watch.---For more AP auto racing coverage: http://racing.ap.org/ Taijuan Walker Mariners Jersey . -- Matt Kuchar and Harris English ran away with the Franklin Templeton Shootout, shooting a 14-under 58 on Sunday in the final-round scramble to break the tournament course record. Floyd Bannister Jersey . He was followed closely by David Clarkson, donning red, seconds later. Clarksons actions one night earlier, leaping off the bench in defence of Kessel during a pre-season game against the Buffalo Sabres, will cost him the first 10 games of the regular season. https://www.cheapmariners.com/1945k-harold-reynolds-jersey-mariners.html . In Europe, top teams seem to be largely happy with their squads after spending nearly $1 billion in the off-season. And although English league clubs are unlikely to splash cash in January, Arsenal and Chelsea could be tempted to strengthen their squads with new strikers. Ricardo Sanchez Jersey . Michell Burger, a woman who lives on an estate next to Pistorius gated community, said she and her husband were awoken by the screams in the pre-dawn hours of Feb. 14 last year, when Pistorius killed Reeva Steenkamp by shooting four times through a door in his bathroom. Mark Langston Jersey . Jane Virtanen scored two, and Alex Roach and Elliott Peterson rounded out the offence for the Hitmen (40-15-6). Brady Brassart chipped in with three assists. Colton McCarthy scored twice, Brayden Point had a goal and two assists, and Jack Rodewald also scored for the Warriors (15-35-9), who were 2 for 5 on the power play. (STATS) -- Potential changes in how the FCS playoff field is selected may decrease the number of rematches this year.But everybody will probably wish for a rematch between top-ranked North Dakota State and No. 8 Eastern Washington after the five-time reigning FCS champion Bison won a 50-44 overtime classic over the Eagles at the Fargodome on Saturday.NDSU safety Tre Dempsey intercepted Eastern Washington quarterback Gage Gubrud on the second play of overtime to set up Lance Dunns 25-yard touchdown run around the left end on the Bisons first play of their possession.Thats a great team that we just played, NDSU coach Chris Klieman said. Im so proud of our guys for staying the course. We knew it was going to be a back-and-forth game. And ultimately we got the stop we needed on defense -- what a great play by Tre -- and then I think we finally wore em down with the power play.NDSU (2-0) has won both of its home games in overtime after having never previously gone to the extra time at the Fargodome since the NCAA instituted overtime in 1996. The win also was the Bisons 44th straight at home against a non-conference opponent.The Missouri Valley Conference power was seeking a little revenge for the only previous meeting between the two teams -- Eastern Washingtons 38-31 OT win in the 2010 FCS playoff quarterfinals. That is the only loss in the Bisons FCS playoff history, and after EWU went on to win the FCS title that season, they have won the last five championships.The rematch six years later was worth the wait. Eastern Washington (1-1) played the second half and overtime without injured All-America wide receiver Cooper Kupp, who left with a right shoulder sprain after catching two first-half touchdowns. They gave him 61 TDs for his career, setting the Division I record.But Gubrud kept pressure on NDSUs young secondary, turning to wide receivers Stu Stiles and Kendrick Bourne as he threw for 450 yards and four touchdowns.The visitors from the Big Sky Conference trailed by double digits four timees -- 21-7, 28-17, 35-24 and 41-31 -- and never led until the freshman Tamarick Pierce plowed in from 1 yard out for a 44-41 advantage with 4:32 left.ddddddddddddThe Bison responded with a 15-play, 71-yard scoring drive, which Cam Pedersen capped with a 28-yard, game-tying field goal with 42 seconds remaining.Eastern Washington had a chance to win in regulation, but Jordan Dascalo missed badly on a 49-yard field goal with six seconds remaining.Anytime you just play against great competition and against great players, it helps you as you go further in your season, EWU coach Beau Baldwin said. Thats especially true with our non-conference schedule heading into our conference schedule, which is always tough. We can take a lot from this, and we will.The two teams racked up 1,093 yards of offense (EWU 556; NDSU 537). Gubrud added 49 yards and a touchdown on the ground while Stiles (eight receptions, 169 yards, one touchdown) and Bourne (eight receptions, 133 yards) were his favorite targets. NDSU quarterback Easton Stick, now 10-0 as a starter, passed for a career-high 257 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 60 yards and a score, while Dunn had 14 carries for 128 yards and two touchdowns.I was really pleased with Lance and how hard he ran the football, Klieman said, how he hit the holes, playing with a lot of confidence, and it showed on that last run.All-America linebacker Nick DeLuca, who suffered a right shoulder separation in the season opener against Charleston Southern, returned to the NDSU lineup to post a team-high 14 tackles and 40-yard interception return for a touchdown.The schedules stay tough for both teams next Saturday. NDSU will try to extend a five-game winning streak against FBS opponents when it plays at Big Ten power Iowa. EWU, which defeated Washington State a week ago, will play its home opener against Northern Iowa, another FCS Top 10 team. ' ' '