Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway. Image: Meg Oliphant/Getty Images
The Playoffs have been a hot-button topic among competitors and fans who have bemoaned the win-and-you’re-in system.
Speaking after the release of the schedule for the Cup Series, O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, and Craftsman Truck Series, NASCAR executive vice president and chief venue & racing innovation officer Ben Kennedy suggested changes could be made.
When asked if the schedule release acted as confirmation that the Playoffs structure will not change for next year, Kennedy replied, “It’s not yet.”
The Playoffs have been run as a knockout format since 2014, but growing discontent could see the finals series tweaked. Kennedy admitted fan feedback was a consideration.
“I know the playoff committee has had a number of meetings over the past several months on different formats that we could look at, and they’ve run a handful of simulations on just various formats, collected some fan feedback,” said Kennedy.
“I know there are conversations as early as a couple days ago on what the future of the Playoff format looks like. Nothing to announce today.
“What I would say, though, is we want to make sure that we take the time to do it right, that we collect as much information as we can, and hopefully whatever this new format is, if there is a new format, it’s something that will last a long time.
“We want to be thoughtful and diligent about it, make sure we make the right decisions and moves and give both our fans and our competitors something that they can be really proud of going forward. More to come on that in the future.”
Some of NASCAR’s most respected drivers have called the Playoffs into question.
Denny Hamlin, a three-time Daytona 500 winner, has been a vocal opponent of them. Mark Martin, whose career ran for more then 30 years, has continually rallied against the winner-takes-all season finale.
There are different schools of thought around how the champion should be decided – whether that’s returning to a traditional season-long points accumulation, a 10-race ‘Chase’ as it were before the Playoffs format, or a multi-race title decider.
Criticism around the current format is that it does not reward the driver who is the best over the course of the season. Last year’s champion Joey Logano has often been cited. He averaged a lowly 17th – the worst of any champion in the Playoffs era – before winning his way in.
The NASCAR Cup Series continues on Sunday, August 24 (AEST) at Daytona International Speedway.