Kurt Busch voices support for ‘hybrid’ championship format

Kurt Busch has weighed in on the debate about the NASCAR championship format. He has experienced multiple systems during his career, so does he have a preference?

The answer is not really. He doesn’t want to see the 36-race format return, nor does he want NASCAR to bring back the 10-race Chase. He also doesn’t seem to want to see the current one-race championship remain.

“I think we need a little bit of a hybrid of what we have currently, versus a full 36-race schedule versus a 10-race playoff format, which is what I won under,” the 2004 Cup Series champion told SiriusXM’s “The Morning Drive” on Wednesday.

“I think you need a five-race style format, and you keep some points from the regular season, but it’s the five races, and you accumulate as many points as you can during those five. If you’re lucky enough to have four or five points in the bank coming into the final race, you use that to your advantage.”

Busch added that the 10-race Chase was way too long. If he had the magic wand controlling NASCAR, he would use it to cut the Chase in half and mix in a variety of track styles. He said he would like to see five different tracks for five weeks. This includes a short track, road course, intermediate, and superspeedway.

Diving deeper into the subject, Busch also expressed the opinion that the 36-race format could have some downsides. He pointed to last season’s Formula 1 season when Max Verstappen had locked up the World Driver’s Championship with multiple races remaining in the season.

Multiple format options have come to light over the past several months as NASCAR has examined format changes. The expectation is that NASCAR will go away from the one-race championship format used between 2014 and 2025.

Some people involved in the discussions have mentioned the return to a 36-race format. Others have discussed bringing back the 10-race Chase. Another format in this discussion is a 3-3-4 format featuring a four-race final round.

NASCAR’s Managing Director of Racing Communications Mike Forde has provided an update on the potential changes. He said during this week’s episode of the “Hauler Talk” podcast that NASCAR has gotten all the feedback it needs from the playoff committee featuring representatives from every part of the industry.

Forde also indicated that it could be some time before NASCAR reveals its new format.

“Now, it’s in NASCAR’s hands,” Forde said. “They’re going to take all the feedback they got from every walk of life and every thought on the spectrum — from no playoffs whatsoever to keeping it how it is and really beating that all up. There are announcements to come. Honestly, I don’t know where it is. It could be in two weeks, it could be in two months.

“We clearly want to make sure that we have been very thorough on this one. Obviously, it will be before Feb. 5 (and) The Clash, but it could be sooner than later, it could be in January. I don’t know. I don’t think anyone knows just yet.

“Still discussions to be had on where we are on discussion of the playoff format. I think we feel good about the directions and the possibilities here because of the playoff committee and the work that they’ve done and the feedback we got from the industry.”