Since NASCAR created the Chase in 2004 as a playoff system to make late-season races meaningful and to hang on to television viewers in the fall, when the NFL reigns supreme, the system has been a lightning rod for criticism.

And with Jimmie Johnson poised to run away with the championship -- his unprecedented fourth in a row -- the criticism appeared to be justified.

But sometimes, all fate needs is a little nudge.

With just the slightest bump in the third lap of the Dickies 400 on Nov. 8 at Texas Motor Speedway, Johnson's quest for an unprecedented fourth consecutive Sprint Cup title went from a coronation to no sure thing.

A traffic jam early in the race put Johnson into the wall and cut his seemingly insurmountable lead over Martin from 184 points to 73.

And although Johnson redeemed himself with a victory last Sunday at Phoenix, stretching his lead to 108 points, another catastrophic start at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday could undo an entire season of dominance.

``I can't put my guard down,'' Johnson said. ``Anything and everything can go wrong.''

Johnson's misfortune quieted -- at least for the time being -- resurgent questions of whether the Chase for the Cup format needed more revamping.

Among drivers and league executives, there is an agreement that, no matter how the Chase was structured, Johnson would be in the driver's seat for the series title.

Johnson's 2009 statistics tell the story: seven victories, 15 top-fives, 23 top-10s and an average finishing position of 12th place. He has been dominant and consistent.

In short, he is the type of champion NASCAR had in mind when it went to the Chase format five years ago.

``They've won an incredible amount during this Chase,'' said Kurt Busch, who won two weeks ago at Texas Motor Speedway. ``A couple years ago, we thought the Chase format needed adjusting, so we gave more points to race wins. Now he's so far ahead, we're thinking we have to adjust it again.

``We can't keep doing that. They're that good.''

In 2004, the series was known as the Nextel Cup, and Matt Kenseth was a beleaguered defending champion.

The year before, Kenseth won the points championship -- which was then decided by an entire season's worth of races -- despite winning just one race. By comparison, Ryan Newman finished sixth despite winning eight races and earning 11 poles.

The ensuing firestorm helped bring about the Chase, which is a 10-race playoff system at the end of the season. In short, the points reset after race 26, and the top dozen drivers are the only ones eligible for the championship.

The points system underwent slight changes in 2007, when more weight was given to race champions, throughout the season and during the Chase. This change has had only a slight affect on Johnson's lead over Martin this year -- Johnson has been awarded 50 additional points and Martin 45 for their respective victories.

Denny Hamlin sits eighth in the Chase standings, and has no shot at the title. His only complaint in the format is that he could have a car that has done well all season, yet still finish in the lower half of the Chase standings.

``It looks terrible when you finish 11th or 12th [in the Chase], when you've been the second-, third-, fourth-best car pretty much all year long,'' Hamlin said in late October. ``. . . That's the only problem I have with it. If they gave points for us running up front for most of the time, we'd maybe have a shot at this championship. But, unfortunately, they don't. It's only on finishing position. That's bitten us right at the very end.

``Obviously, the way [Johnson] is performing, we're not going to be leading the points in this position anywhere, even if we didn't have the two bad weeks that we had.''

Because of Johnson's wreck, the race Sunday at Homestead still has meaning.

If Martin -- who has finished fourth in the Series four times in his career -- wins Sunday's Ford 400 and leads the most laps, he will win his first series championship if Johnson finishes no better than 26th and leads no laps.

But long-term, the nature of NASCAR -- with its 36-week schedule, its 43-car field and powerful garages such as Hendrick Motorsports -- which has the top three drivers in the Chase -- doesn't always allow for the drama seen in the IndyCar Series. IndyCar came down to the final lap of the final race of the season, also at Homestead.

But that's just fine with drivers such as Miami resident Juan Pablo Montoya, who switched to NASCAR after spending several years in open-wheel racing.

``How many people are watching [IndyCar]?'' Montoya said dismissively, pointing to the circuit's low television ratings.

How does NASCAR, with its four-hour races, nine-month season and confusing points system rank? It's second, behind just the NFL, in terms of viewers.

``I think we've done enough tinkering for the time being,'' said Jim Hunter, NASCAR's vice president of corporate communications. ``I think we could turn the points system upside down and that team would still be leading the points. When it comes down to the Chase, no one is any better than that team.''