While Game 7 moments and cut lines are sports terms not typically associated with stock car racing, they have entered the lexicon as NASCAR has tried to mimic “stick-and-ball” leagues. However, fans might get to throw out the new dictionary. The NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Committee is considering scrapping the current playoff format after a meeting last week. Several committee members spoke in favor of reverting the championship to a full-season format, previously used in the Cup Series and commonplace in the rest of the racing world.
Die-hard fans would be delighted to see a season-long championship return, but there’s still support for retaining the playoffs and reforming certain elements. Mike Forde, NASCAR’s managing director of communications, indicated the confusing parallel playoff bonus point system could be dropped. He also told Hauler Talk, an in-house NASCAR podcast, that the winner-take-all championship race could be replaced with a four-race final round.
Yes, the current format is overly complicated
NASCAR first introduced a playoff format to the Cup Series in 2004. The Chase for the Cup was a far cry from the complicated system used today. The top ten drivers in points after a 26-race regular season had their points totals reset and competed in a ten-race mini-season to become champion.
Now, let me explain the current format. The Cup Series Playoffs feature 16 drivers, who qualify by winning races during the regular season. There hasn’t yet been a regular season with 16 different race winners, so the remaining spots are filled by the highest-placed drivers in points without a win. Seeding for the playoffs is determined by a parallel bonus point system. The Playoffs feature four rounds, during which the bottom four drivers are eliminated after each of the first three rounds. Similar to the regular season, if a playoff driver wins a race, they automatically advance to the next round. The championship round is a single-race winner-take-all finale between the final four drivers. The highest-placed playoff driver in the finale becomes champion.
The champion shouldn’t be decided by a single race
The current format heightens the drama surrounding qualifying on points and advancing through the playoff rounds. However, it feels predictable and manufactured. NASCAR tried to create an environment where only winning matters, but there’s nothing meaningful for a driver to do out on track after winning other than prepare for the postseason. It is difficult for an excellent season to stand out when most of the focus is on drivers getting their first win of the season. While any change would be welcome at this point, fans have to be patient for a little bit longer. Forde said:
“We don’t want to announce a format prior to Phoenix and then have everyone either devalue this year’s championship or sort of make another set of points of who would be the champion if a new format was in place. So I think that would be after this year.”
Whatever NASCAR chooses to do, I hope it abandons the concept of a winner-take-all finale. An entire season can’t come down to one race between four drivers, where a mechanical failure or the rest of the entire field could play an outsized role in determining who wins the championship every season.
