Sweeping changes to the Spring Cup championship were announced by NASCAR yesterday. The amount of drivers eligible to make the chase has been increased 25 percent, or from 12 to 16. In addition to the increased amount of drivers in the chase, the qualifying has been drastically retooled. Going forward, the first 26 races in a NASCAR season will be dramatically more meaningful. Basically if a driver wins one of these races he or she is virtually guaranteed a spot in the championship round.

The 16 drivers will be selected first and foremost based on how many races they win. If less than 16 drivers win a race during the regular season the next basis for selection will be points. Drivers can win points for winning poles and of course based on their final positions in races.

The Chase has been controversial since its introduction prior to the 2004 Nextel Cup Championship. For instance, a driver could win every single regular season race, but wind up losing the Sprint Cup. The Chase format isn't the only thing that has been tweaked over the years. It's been renamed and rebranded several times due to things like company mergers. After Nextel merged with Sprint the championship became known as the Sprint Cup.

"We have arrived at a format that makes every race matter even more, diminishes points racing, puts a premium on winning races and concludes with a best-of-the-best, first-to-the-finish line showdown race -- all of which is exactly what fans want," said Brian France, NASCAR chairman and CEO. "We have looked at a number of concepts for the last three years through fan research, models and simulations, and also maintained extensive dialogue with our drivers, teams and partners. The new Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup will be thrilling, easy to understand and help drive our sport's competition to a whole new level."

All this change begs the question: Will six-time champ Jimmy Johnson win another Sprint Cup championship after these news rules will be put into effect? That's yet to be seen, but he loves the new format.

Do you approve or disapprove of the new NASCAR Spring Cup format. Let us know what you think in the comments section below.