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/ Nike Air Force 1 Norge Prisjakt .ca NBA Power Rankings, ahead of the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs. Air Force 1 07 Norge . -- Brandon Jennings made the most of his first game with the Detroit Pistons on Sunday night. http://www.airforce1norge.com/ . -- The plastic that was taped across the lockers in Oaklands clubhouse came down and the champagne that was on ice went back into the cooler. Air Force 1 Hvit Norge .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Air Force 1 Norge . -- When the Florida Panthers fell behind by two goals in the first period to the top team in the NHL, it appeared they were on their way to yet another loss. NEW YORK -- New York Mets left-hander Steven Matzs planned return from the disabled list on Thursday is off.Matz experienced renewed shoulder tightness while throwing off a mound on Sunday and again while throwing on flat ground on Monday, and the Mets temporarily have shut him down.Matz said he is dealing with a shoulder impingement that is causing rotator cuff irritation. He predicted he will pitch again this season. Matz added that surgery will not be required to remedy the issue. Its more about correcting posture.Just a little irritation -- its still bugging me a little bit, Matz said Tuesday afternoon. I dont quite feel like I can let it go yet. ... The doctor said everything structurally looks OK. Its just a classic impingement, I guess, is what you can call it.I felt like I was making progress, and then I threw off the mound a little bit, and I felt OK coming out of the there. And then the next day, which was yesterday, I tried to throw and it was kind of barking at me a little bit again. It didnt cause me to stop throwing. I was able to get my tossing in. But for me to get on the mound and throw a bullpen and tell them Im ready for a game would just be unrealistic in my mind.Matz already is planning to undergo surgery after the season to remove a bone spur from his pitching elbow.The Mets have expressed confidence that Matzs elbow issue has not resulted in him altering his mechanics and caused the shoulder problem. Still, Matz said about that topic: Theres really no way of telling. My arm was really feeling great, which is why this is a big disappointment. A few days after that last game I threw, somethinng just started barking at me.dddddddddddd It kind of really hasnt subsided since.The Mets had planned to bump Robert Gsellman from the rotation with Matzs expected return on Thursday, but now the rookie right-hander will remain in the rotation.Jacob deGrom, skipped Monday to provide extra rest after recent struggles, now will re-enter the rotation for Thursdays series finale against the Miami Marlins. Noah Syndergaard, Gsellman and Seth Lugo then will face the Washington Nationals this weekend at Citi Field.The Matz setback was not the only bad news manager Terry Collins revealed Tuesday. While cautioning that he was not authorized to provide specifics, Collins said the lower-back issue that is troubling second baseman Neil Walker is expected to remain a problem for the remainder of the season. As a result, Walkers play down the stretch might not be consistent. Walker is out of the lineup for a third straight game on Tuesday.Other notes: Collins confirmed that outfielder Michael Conforto will be among the first wave of call-ups when rosters expand on Thursday. Conforto is hitting .415 with eight homers and 26 RBIs in 123 at-bats with Triple-A Las Vegas in 2016. He hit .218 with 11 homers and 33 RBIs in 266 at-bats in the majors this season. The Mets also extended their player-development agreement with Las Vegas through the 2018 season. The location is not optimal because the distance from New York requires promoted players to take red-eye flights in order to join the big league club. ' ' '