There’s been considerable drama and fan debate about the NASCAR playoff system, which ended under considerable drama this year when Denny Hamlin lost a sure title win in the final laps due to a late caution, and Kyle Larson ultimately claimed the title.
Similarly, there was much consternation this past weekend by fans of the Australian Supercars Championship, where a similar playoff system has been implemented — and 13-race winner Broc Feeney lost the title to 4-race winner Chaz Mostert. Reading the comments questioning the legitimacy of Mostert’s title, you would have thought they were talking about the Cup series.
One theme keeps coming up in all this discussion about championship formats — the time has come to end the gimmicks. I admit I have loved the playoffs at times, and they’ve given us some great moments over the years, such as the Ross Chastain’s kamikaze move around the wall at Martinsville to make the Final Four.
But in the end, forcing a tight battle for the championship is never as good as it happening naturally. And reality today in NASCAR’s Cup series is that due to the Next Gen car, parity is really the norm — at least between drivers on the three biggest teams (Joe Gibbs Racing, Penske Racing and Hendrick Motorsports) plus other emerging teams such as 23XI and Trackhouse.
The Formula 1 battle has been truly intense, with multiple naturally great storylines: You have Max showing his superpowers with the late season comeback, the “Will Lando choke?” conversation, the question of whether McLaren will favor either driver during a race weekend. There’s no reason NASCAR, and Supercars, can’t go back to a more traditional season-long format (or at the bare minimum a 10-race Chase), and have those type of storylines occur naturally as well.
The grim fears people have of a driver wrapping up the title with weeks left in the season are not going to prove accurate in most seasons due to how close the top teams race each other every week, so as NASCAR makes efforts to go back to its roots in 2026, simplifying the way we race and our points system will be important.
I’d love to have them eliminate the “win and you’re in” playoff rule, as too many drivers made the postseason with a win, only to hang around the back and get eliminated early, adding nothing in the process. Simplify the points as much as possible, and it will naturally play out that the drivers running up front each week will be neck and neck most years for the top spot.
The fans have spoken on the matter, in the U.S. and Australia, and F1’s grand finale at Abu Dhabi should serve as an inspiration for other series that rewarding consistency and not forcing these Game 7 moments is the best option.
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