Having raced through the evolution from the old full-season, 36-point championship to the modern 10-race elimination format, Brad Keselowski certainly knows a thing or two about playoffs. In fact, earlier in the week, he remarked, “The whole playoff thing has to go away. The nuance of having 10 races that are more important than 20-some others is very unhealthy for the sport. It’s demeaning to the other tracks and races.” Now, as the dust settles on the Charlotte Roval race, his anger reached fever pitch.
True to its nature, Bank of America Roval 400 delivered intense playoff drama with Joey Logano and Ross Chastain fighting for every point to advance into the Round of 8. On the final lap, Chastain collided with Denny Hamlin and spun across the finish line in a desperate bid to earn a single point and avoid elimination. Meanwhile, Shane van Gisbergen dominated the race, winning by over 15 seconds and securing his fifth consecutive road course victory of the 2025 season. But that isn’t enough for racing purists like Keselowski.
The 2012 Cup Series champion, who missed the playoffs as RFK Racing fell short of the cutoff, has long voiced concerns about the Series playoff format. Following the chaotic Charlotte Roval race, Keselowski took to X to reiterate his criticism, saying, “Clear as day, not enough talk about winning and winners (star power) but covering 15th for known elimination is easier for media storylines. Fans are voting with their eyeballs and it’s definitively a net loss for the sport vs full season format. Now is the time to fix this.”
Talks are ongoing about the 2026 championship format, with proposals including a four-race final round featuring up to 6 contenders. Still, some voices push for a return to the traditional season-long point system, including Dale Jr. NASCAR hasn’t used a full-season points format since 2003; the playoff structure has been tweaked several times, most recently ahead of the 2017 season. Keselowski’s comment about fans “ voting with their eyeballs” reflects the noticeable drop in 2025 playoff TV ratings, down roughly 300-400K viewers compared to 2024. These numbers are no joke.