The National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing, known as NASCAR, just wrapped up their season in Phoenix, Arizona. While other series went as fans expected, the NASCAR Xfinity Series created huge conversations over the playoff format.
The NASCAR playoff format consists of ten races, three rounds, and a championship race. In order to make it in the playoffs, all a driver has to do is win a race. If there aren’t 16 different winners throughout the season, the rest of the spots are filled by the drivers that have the most points until there are four drivers left for the championship race, where the first out of the four playoff drivers to cross the finish line is crowned a champion.
After the 2025 Xfinity Series Championship, fans were angry at the outcome. Jesse Love, who only won one race all season, won the championship over Connor Zilisch, who won ten races, the most out of all Xfinity Series drivers. Although Love is a likeable driver, backlash sparked after his championship win on X, formally Twitter, about how NASCAR should go back to the “ten race chase” used from 2004 until 2013.
The “ten race chase” entered the top ten drivers at the end of every season into the playoffs where they literally chased for a championship by means of points. No rounds, no eliminations, just race. The driver with the most points at the end of the season was then crowned the champion. With this format, Zilisch could have won the championship, instead of Love.
Story continues below advertisement
In every other professional sport, the champion is the best of that season, except for NASCAR. Zilisch worked hard in his rookie season of Xfinity racing, and it was heartbreaking to see him next to his car during the post-race show. It made me wonder why NASCAR thought it was okay to start this playoff format in the first place.
Crowning mediocrity is never the way to go, and watching the Xfinity race, I was furious with the fairness of it. Fans and racers are asking for a return to the “ten race chase” format, and NASCAR has stated that they are considering it, but nothing has been officially confirmed.
My problem with NASCAR is that fans and drivers have been begging for change for years, with no real response. If NASCAR doesn’t make a change soon, it could lose viewership from long-time fans.