CHARLOTTE, N.C. - NASCAR wont change its new championship format, which chairman Brian France said Monday is overwhelmingly popular with fans.The Chase was revamped last year into an elimination-style system that created a winner-take-all final race among four drivers. Kevin Harvick won the season finale at Homestead in November to claim his first Sprint Cup title.France called it perhaps the best Chase ever and said the excitement will carry into this season.Its overwhelmingly popular with our most important stakeholder, the fans, France of the Chase during the kickoff to the annual NASCAR media tour. They (fans) like the fact that it tightened up competition. They liked the drama down the stretch. They like the emphasis on winning. And one of the things they told us that they really liked is the idea that we werent going to change anything. And they strongly suggested that we didnt. And were not going to.NASCAR launched the Chase in 2004 and tweaked it several times in the first 10 years. But it got a dramatic overhaul before the 2014 season, when the field was expanded to 16 drivers with four eliminated after every third Chase race. The final four drivers then went to Homestead even in the standings, with the highest finisher guaranteed the championship. The system worked in creating an eventful finale in which all four contenders raced for the win.France said he believed the simple formula that did not require following points — drivers made the Chase by winning a race, and advanced through the rounds with wins — was embraced by fans.One of the magical parts of this Chase, and we want to make sure we keep it this way, is the simplicity of it: Win and youre in, said France.One change coming into 2015 will be that NASCAR will no longer permit teams to alter their cars side skirts during a race, a widespread practice last season. Many crew chiefs believed the flaring of the skirts violated the rules, but because NASCAR was not acting on it, they were forced to manipulate the sheet metal to keep up with other teams.Steve ODonnell, executive vice-president and chief racing development officer, said cars will be brought back in if NASCAR sees the skirts have been manipulated during a pit stop. Policing the flared skirts will be done by any means possible, ODonnell said.Other topics covered Monday by France:— Sprint is not likely to be replaced as title sponsor before its deal expires at the end of next season. Sprint said last month it will not renew its contract with NASCAR, but will honour the remainder of its deal. The last time NASCAR needed a new sponsor, when R.J. Reynolds said in 2003 it wanted out of its deal that expired at the end of 2007, the sanctioning body nabbed Nextel to take over in 2004.I dont anticipate anybody being in a position to leave early, but well get out into the marketplace and see, France said.— NASCAR would like to have the 2016 rules decided and delivered to teams earlier than ever, and is eyeing the All-Star Race in May as a possible deadline. Teams received the 2015 rules last September, and the 2014 rules were not set until last January.— France took a moment to acknowledge Jeff Gordon, who said last week this 23rd season will be his last as a full-time driver.Jeff is a friend of ours, a friend of mine personally, and certainly I dont have to tell you what hes done for the sport, France said. I dont have to tell you the amazing accomplishments on and off the track. From everybody at NASCAR, (we) wish him a strong final season.France has previously acknowledged that attention in NASCAR is increased when Gordon is a part of the title race. The four-time champion is one of the very few drivers who transcends NASCAR and is famous beyond the sports landscape. It will be difficult to replace his star power, but France said its part of sports.The changing of the guard, thats always part of sports, part of NASCAR, he said. Thats what you count on, to have great farm system of aspiring talent, hopefully of a diverse background, to let their talents and their abilities land with the Sprint Cup Series. Yeezy 350 v2 Static Reflective Replica . He was with the New York Jets in 2011 when the NFL locked out their players after they failed to agree on a new contract. Willy went undrafted but was given a look by four NFL teams before heading north. Fake Yeezy 350 Citrin . 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Los Angeles kept it close into the second half before the Pacers finished an easy win over the injury-riddled Lakers, who have lost five straight.The Buffalo Sabres continued to move assets for picks and the Minnesota Wild added a bona fide scoring winger to help their playoff push. Numbers Game looks into the Wild getting Matt Moulson from Buffalo. The Wild Get: LW Matt Moulson and LW Cody McCormick. Moulson, 30, has been a productive scoring winger throughout much of his career with the New York Islanders and, to a lesser degree, this season with the Buffalo Sabres, scoring 129 goals since the start of the 2009-2010 season, ranking 16th in the league over that span. He gives the Wild better complementary scoring, figuring to slot in on the second line behind Zach Parise on the left wing depth chart, perhaps with Mikko Koivu and Charlie Coyle, and giving Minnesota a nice offensive upgrade and while Moulson may not play as prominent a role as he did in Buffalo and New York, he could benefit from more favourable matchups as a result. Moulson, who comes at a cap hit of $3.133-million per season, will be an unrestricted free agent in the summer, so he could end up being little more than a rental, which is fine because the price paid isnt too steep. McCormick is a tough 30-year-old forward who hasnt been able to hold down a regular spot in the lineup, yet comes at a cap hit of $1.2-million (on a deal that expires this summer). He offers some depth if the Wild feel a need for fourth line toughness, but he could just as easily be a spare part. The Sabres Get: RW Torrey Mitchell and second-round picks in 2014 and 2016. Mitchell, 29, hasnt been able to live up to his contract in Minnesota, playing a little over 10 minutes per game while hes signed for a cap hit of $1.dddddddddddd9-million per season, including a salary of $2.5-million next season. Mitchell has been crushed in possession terms, but hes also been asked to play difficult minutes, starting 34.6% of his shifts in the offensive zone. Going to Buffalo, it would be reasonable to expect Mitchell to take on a more significant role as a checking forward, playing more minutes and quite possibly handling tougher matchups defensively. Part of the reason that its possible to expect Mitchell to get a better opportunity is that his contract is a tad pricey for a fourth-liner but, like most of the forwards on the Sabres roster, Mitchell gets to use the rest of the season help establish expectations for next season. The Sabres get two more second-round picks to add to their deep pool of accumulated picks. The 2014 pick comes from Minnesota while the 2016 pick is via Winnipeg. A pair of second-round picks offer better than a 50% chance of netting an NHL player. It was no surprise that the Sabres would be moving Moulson and while Buffalo took on some salary in the deal, they added more draft picks, helping to offset the couple of second-round picks that they had included in their earlier trade with the Los Angeles Kings. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. ' ' '