NASCAR’s playoff system is not going anywhere, but the door is not closed on future tweaks to the format.
“The format is one thing, but we’re not going to go away from the playoffs,” NASCAR Chief Operating Officer Steve O’Donnell said on Friday during his annual State of the Sport address. “We read fans (complaints) and everything. We will, as we always do … look at what form the playoffs take in the offseason. You always learn.
“But the playoffs in and of itself… you cannot argue with the quality of racing that the playoffs have delivered. You can talk about format; if we do some different things, but absolutely, we’re going to stick with it.”
NASCAR crowns its three national series champions this weekend at Phoenix Raceway. The questions about whether the system is the best way to crown a champion centers around the fact that the four contenders in the Cup Series this year do not lead in any statistical category.
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Kyle Larson, who leads the series in wins (six), is not one of the Championship 4 drivers. Christopher Bell, who leads the series in the top-10 finishes (22) and top-five finishes (14), is also not among those four drivers.
But this is not a first-time occurrence. Martin Truex Jr. won the regular season championship last year but did not advance to Phoenix. Kevin Harvick won the regular season championship and nine races in 2020, but also did not make it to the championship race.
The criticism over which drivers deserve to be in the championship race has not gone unnoticed. NASCAR president Steve Phelps directly addressed those comments, without being asked, in his opening remarks. Phelps said the four drivers in each of the three national series know the format and earned their spots at Phoenix Raceway.
“The format is the format,” Phelps said. “We are always looking (and) if there are opportunities for us to tweak something, so be it. We’re not the only sport where the best statistical team does not get to the final four or the Super Bowl or the World Series. The format – there was a huge emphasis 10 years ago when the format was put into place about winning. Three of the four (drivers) on Sunday, they won to get through.
“I go back to (how) the format itself creates incredible racing. So if we are all going to be honest and say, ‘Hey, how’s the racing been during the playoffs and these nine weeks?’ I don’t think it’s ever been better, and I think part of that is due to the system itself. They race their guts out. They did.”
Phelps mentioned Tyler Reddick’s run at Homestead-Miami Speedway two weeks ago (main image). Reddick went from third to first on the final lap to clinch his first Championship 4 appearance. The 23XI Racing driver is also the regular season champion.
In the elimination race at Martinsville Speedway, Ryan Blaney won to earn his spot and will attempt to defend his championship on Sunday. Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, and others all led laps and ran at the front in the closing laps as they needed to win to advance.
“I think it provides great, great racing for our race fans,” Phelps said.
The elimination format was introduced in 2014. NASCAR introduced stage racing and playoff points to the format in 2017, which rewards a regular season champion and seeds drivers based on their performance in the first 26 races.