{"id":247179,"date":"2025-10-29T05:20:15","date_gmt":"2025-10-29T05:20:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/247179\/"},"modified":"2025-10-29T05:20:15","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T05:20:15","slug":"nascar-news-kevin-harvick-warns-of-playoffs-nuclear-meltdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/247179\/","title":{"rendered":"NASCAR news: Kevin Harvick warns of Playoffs \u2018nuclear meltdown\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"NASCAR
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tConnor Zilisch, driver of the #88 WeatherTech Chevrolet, celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR Xfinity Series Blue Cross NC 250 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Image: Jordan Bank\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

There is something of a feel-good story on the cards for the Cup Series with three of the four drivers vying for their first title. The fourth, Kyle Larson, has won the championship once prior.<\/p>\n

In the second-tier Xfinity Series and third-tier Truck Series, there has been one standout driver in each.<\/p>\n

Connor Zilisch has dominated the Xfinity Series for Chevrolet squad JR Motorsports, winning 10 of the 32 races to date.<\/p>\n

In the Truck Series, Corey Heim has been breaking records, winning 11 of the 24 races so far for Toyota team Tricon Garage.<\/p>\n

There is the possibility in both categories that a driver who has not won a race all season takes the title.<\/p>\n

2025 NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 drivers (by race wins)\u00a0
Denny Hamlin \u2013 6
Chase Briscoe \u2013 3
William Byron \u2013 3
Kyle Larson \u2013 3<\/p>\n

2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship 4 drivers (by race wins)
Connor Zilisch \u2013 10
Justin Allgaier \u2013 3
Jesse Love \u2013 1
Carson Kvapil \u2013 0<\/p>\n

2025 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship 4 drivers (by race wins)
Corey Heim \u2013 11
Tyler Ankrum \u2013 1
Ty Majeski \u2013 0
Kaden Honeycutt \u2013 0<\/p>\n

Harvick has a problem with that. He believes it would be an \u201cembarrassment\u201d to the sport if neither Zilisch nor Heim were victorious in the winner-takes-all finale.<\/p>\n

\u201cHere\u2019s what I think is interesting, when you look at Corey Heim\u2019s stats compared to everybody else, if he doesn\u2019t win this championship it\u2019s going to be a nuclear meltdown if they don\u2019t change the points \u2014 the correct way, at the end of the year,\u201d he said on his Happy Hour podcast.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause it shouldn\u2019t even be a question who the champion is in Trucks, it shouldn\u2019t be a question who the champion is in Xfinity. So if Connor Zilisch and Corey Heim don\u2019t win these championships, it\u2019s exactly why we don\u2019t need the system we have. It\u2019s embarrassing.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet me ask you this. If Tyler Ankrum wins the Truck Series championship, what a slap in the face that is to the series.\u201d<\/p>\n

POLL: What do you think of Supercars\u2019 Finals Series format?<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

NASCAR is reportedly investigating a new-look Playoffs format for 2026, though that decision will not be made before the upcoming Phoenix finale.<\/p>\n

There are reportedly several options being considered, including a return to season-long points accumulation, a 10-race chase, or a modified elimination format where four races could decide the champion as opposed to a one-race, winner-takes-all finale.<\/p>\n

While vocal on his own platform, Harvick said the decision will not come down to public opinion.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe right change is to make as many points matter as possible for as long as possible,\u201d he reasoned.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know what\u2019s right, and I think my opinion doesn\u2019t really matter to the committee because\u2026 I\u2019ve been on one meeting and maybe two and it\u2019s not going to be made by the masses, as far as how the points system is going to be laid out.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy biggest thing is, if we\u2019re going to have Playoffs, you better make the points matter as much as possible or these people are going to eat you up.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving the biggest sample size that you can in those playoffs for the points, you better have that because if those two guys don\u2019t win the championship, it\u2019s an embarrassment.\u201d<\/p>\n

NASCAR will close out its season at Phoenix with the Truck Series title decider on Saturday, Xfinity Series on Sunday, and Cup Series on Monday.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Get the latest NASCAR news, stats and betting insights at MotorRacing.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Connor Zilisch, driver of the #88 WeatherTech Chevrolet, celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR Xfinity Series…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":247180,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[446],"tags":[49,48,634,80605,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-247179","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nascar","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-nascar","11":"tag-slot1","12":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247179","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=247179"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247179\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/247180"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=247179"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=247179"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=247179"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}