Please NASCAR. Stop This. (Rant)

[@Don-deliveries]

I love that Blaney won the title, but can't disagree with your view on settling champion in 1 race. Any format where a driver can hypothetically could win the first 35 races, finish 2nd in the last race, and not win the championship, is a joke a of a system. I realize that scenario would never happen, and this season don't really believe one particular driver dominated from start to finish, but would either like to go back to traditional points system or even the 04 format

[@LessGo7921]

500% agree with this I’m just glad Blaney won as a Ford fan 😭

[@jonnewton9747]

After watching all the races I would rank the 3 series as follows 1. Xfinity 2. Cup 3. Trucks

[@Carlovingbozo8]

The truck race was embarrassing

[@jonnewton9747]

@@Carlovingbozo8 facts

[@tylerhernandez5234]

I'd put the ARCA race over the truck race

[@jonnewton9747]

@@tylerhernandez5234 I didn’t see that one

[@EndlessFlameout4]

You can just remove trucks

[@kevanlindsey483]

You could see Blaney’s momentum rising as the season ended. He peaked at the right time. Similar to Stewart when he won his last championship.

[@walletracer9882]

Shouldn't matter if you find momentum at the very end if you were running last the rest of the season.

[@kevanlindsey483]

@@walletracer9882 he wasn’t running last. Y’all should cry more. Maybe the tears can help you all.

[@jc1424]

@@kevanlindsey483 apparently he was running 14th all year

[@runrafarunthebestintheworld]

and very similar to Chase Elliott as well.

[@jacobevenson8702]

It took half the playoffs for him to even show up... Average finish of 18th in the first half...

[@xKami102x]

Thank you for being the only Nascar content creator with actual sense. The current Playoff format is just horrible. It makes the first 25 races completely irrelevant. A driver could theoretically win 20 races back to back at the start of the season and it all means nothing because some other driver got a "hot streak" at the right time at the last 2 races. Come on Nascar, this is completely unacceptable.

[@mlgstyle5012]

Facts bro idk what they were thinking when they even came up with it🤦‍♂️

[@blendezfamily8727]

That’s exactly what I’ve always said about it.

[@DavidRagan3134]

Chastain having a dominant car was so random. He's been nonexistent after Nashville.

[@thumblessgod]

Nascar grew from nothing to mainstream without a playoff system. F1 is now becoming mainstream without a playoff system. The racing should be what entertains us, the championship should be secondary. The champion should be who was the best of the year, not best for a few races at the end of the year.

[@walletracer9882]

Sad thing is that I wouldn't be surprised if Liberty media is trying to find a way to bring this system to F1.

[@joshuapittman4663]

@@walletracer9882that would kill f1

[@peenhead9938]

lol people are already realizing how much of a joke F1 is. its definitely not becoming mainstream

[@joshuapittman4663]

@@peenhead9938 it already is mainstream. It has the largest fanbase in Motorsports

[@peenhead9938]

There is no true F1 fanbase. The small one from drive to survive died off and they are only left with casuals.@@joshuapittman4663

[@noshield]

Blaney made this race interesting. alot of focus on the broadcast was on him catching, trying & eventually passing someone. Without it being the final 4. we would not have seen as many of the battles

[@jacobevenson8702]

Other than the fact that without the playoffs there would have been a massive points battle for the championship. With the current points system but no playoffs it would have been Byron and Hamlin head to head for the championship. With the Winston Cup format, it would have been a 4 way battle for the championship between Byron, Hamlin, Buescher, and Bell, with Byron having to jump Bell and Hamlin from 68 points back to win the championship.

[@marcforget33]

Congratulations to William Byron on his first Winston Cup Championship! Well deserved AND earned!

[@G0rilla216]

Huh?

[@CameronGuy77]

​@@G0rilla216William Byron would've won the championship if the Winston Cup points format was used.

[@G0rilla216]

@@CameronGuy77 Where would Martin Truex Jr., who won the regular season championship, have finished?

[@Jordym9288]

Agreed! You absolutely nailed it. The one race champion takes too much away from the rest of the season. I’ve always thought this.

[@EpicTyphlosionTV]

Just get rid of the playoff format. Wether its replaced with the old Chase format or the Winston Cup format, I don't care at this point. I doubt we'd have much issue with people locking up the championship with a bunch of races left either judging by how the last few seasons would've gone if you were to have used them. Not to mention we don't have a team like Mercedes in F1. Sure, Hendrick is still doing well, but they don't have the dozens of other factors benefiting them which Mercedes does.

[@ethantaube2512]

That will not happen. Do you want to see the title won with 3 or 2 races left like in 2003

[@koop2014]

@@ethantaube2512 yes. i will 100% take that

[@floopypuncakes]

​@ethantaube2512 yes please...all you have to win now is 3 races...who can finish mid feild all year and win 3 and be the champ

[@EpicTyphlosionTV]

@ethantaube2512 I'd rather have that than what we've got now. Plus, don't think that doesn't happen in other racing leagues outside of Nascar and F1.

[@marcforget33]

With this new kit car there has never been a better time for the Winston Cup system

[@Lancr-jq2or]

I feel the same way. I noticed that lately I haven't had the same feeling after watching a race from week to week. Back then I used to can't wait for the next race to see the championship standings and follow the points leader throughout the race and the after the race was finished to see if they lost or gained. Nowadays I don't even remember you have a points standings page.

[@Jordym9288]

THIS! Perfectly explains my feelings. I used to follow the points so closely. Now I never look at them throughout the regular season. Basically about half the drivers make the playoffs anyway.

[@nomadman5288]

I actually thought this was one of the better Phoenix races we've had in a while. Cars could use different lines and could actually pass throughout the field and even at the front we had a few passes under green, which is pretty rare these days. No way this was as bad as Texas has been.

[@dracoarton94]

What makes things worse is that fantasy seasons do points better than actual Nascar. Most of them use the winston cup format. I saw this one diecast series that uses a points format similar to the one seen Mario Kart. In the third season (the only complete one) there were times when the points were really tight. With 15 races and 32 competitors, there were only three races with a repeat winner. Five drivers had a mathematical shot at the title at the last race, which was thankfully at Homestead instead of a boring track like Phoenix.

[@jc1424]

Byron beat Hamlin in non playoff standings by 8 points, via Racing Reference.

[@walletracer9882]

Damn. That would've made a great storyline to follow rather than the final 4 BS.

[@MLGProSwag69]

9:20 there actually is, Lucas Oil Dirt Modifieds do a playoff format now

[@waterfelon]

Needs to be 3 races for champ 4 too

[@landon8590]

I agree with this because I want more races but at the same time I don’t agree I like how one race ends this but I wouldn’t care either way! 👍🏼

[@Mr.X2188]

That or a full 10 race playoff with no rounds. One race to crown a champion is ridiculous.

[@peenhead9938]

Thats what Ive been saying but I don't complain either way since no format is perfect@@Mr.X2188

[@jg_ultra5133]

So what your saying is instead of 1 race to win the championship its now 3 or 4 out of 36?! Get real!

[@landon8590]

@@jg_ultra5133 they could extend the schedule…

[@diesel227]

Imagine if any other sport had 3 rounds of 3 game series and then just 1 and done in the final. At least the NFL is just 1 game all the way through the playoffs. I'd even be okay if the Nascar final 4 was 3 races. At least it would be consistent. I think the best format would be just a full 10 race chase. No eliminations.

[@whiteboi_18]

I really hope some NASCAR executives or “higher-ups” see this video, because the way you explained everything (particularly, the stuff about the championship being decided in one race), was excellent.

[@walletracer9882]

Unfortunately, I think they like what they're seeing. They want chaos, that's all they care about. No respect for the sport itself. They're probably brainstorming ways to make the Cup playoffs look more like the truck race.

[@whiteboi_18]

@@walletracer9882 yea unfortunately that’s the truth and the sad reality we live in

[@24ever73]

In my eyes Byron Is the real Champion , because he was consistent the whole year and won six races. and all because Blaney finished a few spots ahead he is the champ. That is total bs and NASCAR should make the round of 4 have point so the drivers half to finish in certain spots to earn their title. And the fact it is decied in ONE race like WTF.

[@keegandaugherty8277]

Current feeling about champ 4 if they want to do it this way, let them carry their playoff points they gained DURING the playoffs into the final race, count stage points and let them run like that, not just who finishes higher

[@WweJth]

I don't have the issue with the "1 Race Final". My issue is the "The highest finisher wins the championship" idea. Every other driver collects points during stages and the race, yet the Champ 4 drivers don't. That's ridiculous, they should go by accumulative points. Whoever scores the most points after all 3 stages wins the championship. If you add all the points up for the other 35 races, and for 32 others drivers in the final race, do it for the final 4 as well.

[@nathanakers45]

"There's not another series that does it like this because it's STUPID!" Perfectly summed up in one sentence, but the whole rant was great. 100% agree!

[@ACav704]

Ive told people for 3 or 4 years. After the Coke 600 the summer months in NASCAR are pointless and there is zero reason to watch until the playoffs. Get you a win early on and then focus on getting your car fast and find speed. Ryan Blaney proved that point to a T. With the playoff format why should the casual fan watch the summer months when in September the points all reset and everything starts over with bonus points

[@chromediesel444]

I try to be calm about NASCAR every year but once November comes, it just rubs me off the wrong way. I hated the one race deal since 2014. All that effort 35 races prior is MEANINGLESS. Back then in the Chase era or Winston, you needed to have good number in statistics to win the championship. Look at Rhodes or Blaney. They weren't. Just proves the fact that playoffs reward mediocrity.

[@FinkedOO]

I would say as far deep as we’ve gone down this rabbit hole… I think the best move going forward would be to make the final round an actual final 3 race round and expand the playoffs to 12 races instead of just 10, giving drivers in the C4 who have bad races more chances to get more points. I think this is the best way to get “non-manufactured” game 7 moments that nascar so lusts for

[@FinkedOO]

This could also reduce the amount of aggressiveness in the last race(s). If Hocevar knew he had two more races to gain those points back then maybe he wouldn’t have dived in as deep on Heim as he had.

[@VGF80]

or reduce the number of rounds to three by having the final race be part of the third round.

[@VGF80]

And, while at it, let's reduce the field size to only 12/14 drivers and have the rounds be either 12/14, 8, then 6 or 12/14, 10 then 6. Note that I'm still not decisive yet on the field size and how many drivers to eliminate in each round, that's why I have '12/14'. Regardless I still think 16 is too many. But reducing the field size isn't the point of this discussion anyways, the point is that I want to remove '1 race decides all' while keeping the number of playoff races the same. Or we could just go back to full season points and instead make the final 10 races vary greatly in track configuration (e.g. so one week you're on a road course/roval, next 2 weeks you're going back-to-back racing at short tracks and then right before the final race at Homestead, your rubbing fenders at Talladega) which would cause enough unpredictability to shake up the standings even in a 36 race schedule.

[@maxbriscoegarage]

Racing should never be a playoff sport. Just due to the nature of it, it doesn’t make sense to have a bracket-style system. Championship Pt format should be the norm for every racing series.

[@jturner0901]

another thing, drivers have tracks they’re just good at as well as one’s they’re bad at, blaney just so happens to be EXTREMELY good at phoenix, so all he needed to do was make it here and it was a sure thing lmao

[@Austin_Dale]

I think you could justify points built up over the whole season as a form of crowning a champion. The new car has made everyone so close it would probably come down to at least 3 guys in the last race.

[@DamagedIncorporated1]

All i'll say is congratulations to Ryan Blaney for winning the Playoff Cup championship and to William Byron for winning the Real Cup championship. And I would like to advocate for 2 formats: a season long format AND a playoff format.

[@peenhead9938]

Byron gets the consistent choker championship

[@rjmansfield4890]

I dont think thats very fair to say - A lot of people have been saying that Byron deserves it because of his 6 wins, but about 3 of those fell into his lap due to a call to stay out when rain was coming after not running well in those races. I think the saying, "Where did he come from?" fits here. All though your thoughts on the two formats are super intriguing!

[@Jose-Gomez]

Ok, That's It. Despite Ryan Blaney Wining The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Championship, Go Back To The Original Chase Format, With The 2004-2006 10 Driver/2004-2013 10 Chase Race Format With Chase Points, RATHER, Than The Elimination Playoffs Format. Because Having 1 Race To Decide... Is, NOTHING. But, Despite That... Congratulations, To Both Ross Chastain And Ryan Blaney.

[@redhitman5311]

I really think we should have the chase format again, have a 10 - 12 race playoff with 10 - 16 drivers getting points throughout all 10 - 12 races, that keeps competition close and the championship winner is undoubtedly the best driver that year, simple. But if you want the current playoff elimination system then simply make it a 12 race playoff with everything normal except the final 3 races are the round of 4 and the winner is the driver who gets the most points in those last 3 races, once again simple.

[@ringoflatts6571]

I’m a blaney fan, but I agree. Nothing can or should take this away from him, but that doesn’t mean we can’t look towards a better system that rewards THE best driver all season, not just one that turns it on at some point.

[@timlewis2618]

Harvick should of won darlington. That foolish pitting when the green light wasn't on but he was already committed.

[@OKCThunder4Ever]

Nascar should adopt a 1-2-3-4 system. Round of 16- 1 race. R/12- 2 races, etc. I feel like it would be way more of a fair championship and would legitimize it a little more.

[@daltonmoon6493]

Blaney set his career up for the future since talladega right b4 that I remember a lot of ppl starting to say he is overrated now no matter what he is a champion and beating Larson on the final laps says a lot about him

[@sneakysnake001]

Been saying it from day 1 of this format as well. You cant decide a season long Motorsports championship in 1 race. Its idiotic, so much can happen with 30+ other guys out there. And it somehow devalues both the championship and the rest of the season

[@JESUSstrengthensme]

As a Byron fan this format is ridiculous, he won 6 races, was consistent all year, and somehow a guy who died mid season wins the championship?????? It’s soooo stupid

[@DaleSalzmann]

Literally Harvick in 2020

[@Zyairelitboy]

Fr, its time to get rid of this format seriously

[@dracoarton94]

*cough cough* Harvick 2020, Newman 2003, Jeff Gordon 2007, Rusty Wallace 1993 *cough cough*

[@quasimoto7662]

@@dracoarton94 Harvick 2020 and Gordon 07 are not the same as the others. Rusty and Newman were far too inconsistent

[@dracoarton94]

​@@quasimoto7662True (and I just realized both drove for Penske at the respective times)

[@MoneylineMatt7]

No matter what they do there will be immense complaints. That’s how we got here.

[@walletracer9882]

A stupid nonsensical points system that doesn't belong in motor racing is what got us here.

[@MoneylineMatt7]

@@walletracer9882 No that’s what “here” is, we got here because 10 years ago everyone whined about the format so they changed it, nobody will ever be happy it’s a waste of time to debate.

[@runrafarunthebestintheworld]

A playoff system still got us here though and the ratings keep proving it.

[@upthereds1892]

Ironically this championship format creates predictably not unpredictability

[@Realic_gaming]

I agree. Although congrats to YRB!!!! He earned it in my opinion. Also, i don't say this ever but First. I wish we would honestly go back to race for the chase, where we had a 10 race chase. It was so much better that way

[@Primrose2004]

I hated the 10 race Chase, but I would gladly take it over this current elimination format.

[@-ragingpotato-937]

The format and the broadcast ads are the only thing stopping me from watching lol. With a championship so meaningless its more exciting to see Checo fighting for his life than seeing who wins the nascar championship.

[@EthanNelson-]

Blaney won 4 races this season. I think its pretty deserving

[@nickcooler2658]

Yea dude came on fire for the last four race plus he was racing smart

[@Jbear90]

I mean congrats to Blaney, but he doesn’t deserve a championship. The entire year should mean something and it just doesn’t.

[@Austin_Dale]

This is what happens when you care more about people being entertained than crowning a legit champion.

[@jacobevenson8702]

And in the process the system that is supposed to be "entertaining" makes watching paint dry seem like an exciting change of pace.

[@Whit3Bis0n]

The car are "Equal" this would be the time to go to a full season championship

[@walletracer9882]

Enough so that we don't need gimmicks to make the championship interesting. There's no "Big 3" anymore. Even with a traditional points format this season would've been anyone's game.

[@zoraorbitz5830]

I was at the race and let me tell you, seeing Bell and Blaney move up, Bell clearly was faster then Blaney, so if Bells Roter didn’t blow, he probably would be champion right now

[@luiseduardoribeiro164]

I love how this system has been exposed multiple times to be completely broken, unfair and not even rewarding wins like it's supposed to and yet nascar doesn't do anything about it. Kyle Busch (2015) misses half the season, still wins the championship, Gordon has a mediocre year and makes the final 4 over Logano who had a far better year Matt Crafton (2019) doesn't win a race, still wins the championship Keving Harvick (2018 and 2020) has a dominant season and didn't win either year and didn't even make it to the final 4 in 2020 I'm sick and tired of 90% of the season being worthless and pretty much every year other than 2017 and 2021 people constantly debating if a person deserved a championship or not, This stuff drove me away from modern nascar.

[@mikebrown3225]

Even if they made it a 3 race shootout for the final four drivers people would still complain about outcomes. Devils Advocate Scenario: 3 races for the Cup. Take the same 4 drivers. Make Bell have a sizeable points lead heading into the final race. His brakes fail the same as yesterday, he crashes out. One of the other 3 drivers wins the race but still, Bell wins the Cup. Folks would be pissed that Bell still won the Cup and complain that he didn't even finish the race. “He didn't even finish the race but he’s the champion? Doesn't deserve it” Nobody is ever gonna be happy. All drivers race under the same bs. It is what it is. Try again next year.

[@PaperBanjo64]

A 3 round race to the championship is stupid because it defeats the purpose of the playoffs trying to recreate Carl Edwards vs Tony Stewart 2011 every year in a winner takes all battle, I like what we have for the most part, only change I'd make is go back to 10 or 12 drivers, get rid of win and you're in, make the regular season finale actually be dramatic with drivers trying to get in on points or "pulling a Mayfield" and win their way in.

[@Jordym9288]

I believe I saw that Byron would have won under the old format.

[@acerosstine49]

He would’ve

[@Luje_YT2020]

I personally think nascar should have an extra two races at the end of the season that are all good intermediate speedways and then its a best of three in points for the final four.

[@jessecardinaels]

Easy fix: playoff points from round of 8 should carry into the round of 4. Give some buffers

[@brianburke7677]

I suggest you look into this seasons (2023) Lucas Oil Dirt Late Model series results. Lucas Oil LMs this year adopted the last race of the year, top 4 in points, winner take all NASCAR format. The season was DOMINATED by Ricky Thortan Jr, 20+ regular season feature wins. Last race of the year, has a problem and does not win the championship. Really supports your argument.

[@Blood-PawWerewolf]

This the biggest argument on why the playoffs should end. Bell, Byron and Larson won more races and Blaney only had the Coke 600, Martinsville and some top 5s. Byron won the championship if using the old Winston Cup championship format

[@nomadman5288]

Um, Blaney won 3 races and Bell only won 2.

[@Blood-PawWerewolf]

@@nomadman5288 what was the third race?

[@yoshi32443]

​@@Blood-PawWerewolfTalladega

[@rowdynation8]

We're never happy, if we have the f1 format we complain of no battle, if we have the chase battle your driver is out because they were bad, the nascar format, you win 35 races and the last 2 stages but crash in the last stage youe not the champ

[@PaperBanjo64]

But nobody is ever gonna win the first 35 races then lost the finale race and the championship.

[@ksalveta]

The original chase for the cup format was good. Top 12 drivers battle it out with the points they accumulated over the season. Nascars trying to make the last race matter for audience reasons. like you said with f1 if whats his nuts wins every other race the last two races he could putz in the back and still win the championship. I grew up watching nascar in the 90s and 2000s before the chase format nascar never got to a point 1990-2003 where someone won it with 1 or 2 races left. They had to finish the race above 30th or 35th so they still had to hold it together to win

[@PaladinNL5]

Oh I absolutely agree with this video Although I am really glad Blaney won. It's the same feeling I had when Elliott won in 2020. Blaney and Elliott along with many others are Nascar's current gen stars. Now Blaney has a championship to his name and he's already been around shows, commercials, talk shows you name it. Blaney is a Nascar star now, people will follow and could bring new younger fans to the sport. Nascar advertise your drivers, especially the Champions in their prime.

[@jameseaton2393]

I've said it so many times. This playoff format is absolutely horse sh*t. Nothing against Blaney, but he does not deserve to be champion. Just think about this. Under this current format, a driver could win the first 35 races, finish 2nd in the last race, and still lose that championship. Now that would never happen, but this idiotic format would allow it.

[@Twinspinner]

I'm a Hendrick guy for life. But I'm also an Ohioan, so i claim Blaney lol I was always a little disappointed that Dave Blaney and Sam Hornish Jr didn't amount to a whole lot in NASCAR, so I'm so happy to see Ryan doing big things. He and Chad have been my 2 guys since Gordon retired, and now both of them are champions

[@itsmb8]

The playoff format absolutely sucks. Honestly the original chase format was fine IMO and they didnt need to change it. But IG when Jimmie was that dominant they needed to do SOMETHING to create a different winner.

[@ryanjosephhaywood96]

Ive always disliked the chase/playoffs since im a overall motorsports fan i wish nascar did a season long points system like every other racing series in the world

[@walletracer9882]

22:05 If we're "never changing this" then I'm straight up leaving. Can't keep doing this every year.

[@alanharvey9825]

I'm an Elliott fan but was so happy for blaney, once he won his way in I knew he'd be there like he was last year except contending for a chip this go round. I liked your ideas but let's be honest, there will never be a solution that suits everyone. Part of me likes the point system I grew up watching, part of me feels like the current system gives those drivers that otherwise would have no shot at least hope.

[@nascarfan1851]

In my opinion, it should be the best 3 drivers in the points in the first 33 races; go into the last 3 races ( restarting from 0 ) and whoever does the best within the last 3 races out of those 3 drivers is the champion( hope yall understand what I mean ). It’s a mix of “entertainment” and of “fairness” in my opinion

[@icka_man]

I argued the "1 race championship" from the very first playoffs. My hypothetical is that one driver can win the first 35 races (I know that's not real, but could hypothetically happen), and lose the title in the last race.

[@fast_mattw8059]

RYAN BLANEY BABY LETS FKING GO!!!!

[@ethantaube2512]

Ryan did a great job to win it

[@Carlovingbozo8]

He did i whole heartly agree. But he shouldnt be the champ.

[@Raldo5324]

It feels fake to me also. Call me a conspiracy theorist or whatever, but I feel like every year, the final race in all 3 series has the championship 4 all competing in the top 6 or 7 for the majority of the race. Then there's a late race caution or 2 that brings a close finish for the excitement factor. I know it doesn't happen every final race, but it seems to happen a lot. Even when someone makes a mistake early, like Allgaier in the Xfinity race, they are able to drive through the field easily and be right back in contention in the last 50 laps. I think Nascar is so worried about squeezing every bit of entertainment out of the season as possible, that they've compromised what the sport is supposed to be and they won't let it play out naturally for fear of it being boring.

[@Slothfries25]

Yall just mad Hendricks didn't win and byron not winning because of 6 wins . Blaney was the best all year . Despite his summer being bad . He earned it fair and squared

[@myracingchannel8041]

will anybody care that Truex won the regular season title? will anyone remember that?

[@ephraimvorzman9786]

Finally a sane person. Everyone else seems to be forgetting that this championship is a total farce because they like the winner.

[@zachgatewood]

Wildcard style 12 man chase. 10 on points 2 on wins. 9 race chase, eliminate 4 drivers every three races. Final four race for a championship the final 3 weeks

[@Yeetmaster94]

I suggest going back to the 10 driver chase, except make it only 5 drivers, and five races. Along with a point reset; or just maybe no chase/playoffs at all due to how much harder it is to win now. Also congrats to Blaney.

[@runrafarunthebestintheworld]

5 drivers wouldn't even things out. I'd still say 8 drivers.

[@acerosstine49]

Nah whoever has the most points wins the championship.

[@jayfrederick98]

I definitely don't think blaney deserves the championship. Why do we run stages at the championship race if they don't mean anything

[@jj9487]

Blaney is my favorite driver tho so Im obviously happy. I personally think he deserved it. He came through when it mattered most. Only 8 top 5s tho is kinda weak for a champion

[@ethantaube2512]

We do stages because of Jimmie Johnson

[@soucy24]

Couldn't agree more. I've gotten over the playoffs being apart of NASCAR now but in no way should it be a 1 race best finisher wins the title deal. Ideally if you need some type of elimination format, then do 5 races and cut the field in half. The final 8 battle it out over the last 5 races.

[@runrafarunthebestintheworld]

Final 8. That's too many drivers. Pfft

[@aiwash2766]

The entire reason why I was on board with the playoffs is because I never want to reach the championship race having the championship already clinched, to me it’s one of the worst things about Motorsports from an entertainment stand point, the championship race should feel like the end all be all of a years worth of racing, this year F1 has show that by having Max clinch the championship so early, but the thing is nascar is not F1 there is such a level of parity that someone clinching the nascar championship would be insanely rare, so why keep the playoffs, it really just makes no sense to me

[@landon8590]

EXACTLY

[@Mr.X2188]

Yeah, I want either no playoffs(but adjusting the points system to give more points for wins) or for them to go to something like the 10 race playoffs. The one thing we can’t have is a winner take all championship race.

[@nomadman5288]

To me, one of the worst things that can happen in motorsports is manufactured drama, like the playoffs. The authenticity and purity of the sport is contaminated by it. An early clinch is going to happen from time to time, but a full season format is the most authentic and effective system/format. It's not always going to be an amazing, close final race, just like not all championship games or series are going to be close. How many blowouts have there been in titles games or 4-1 series in MLB or the NBA? It happens a lot. Indycar just had it's first early clinch in like 15 years or something, but Palou had an insanely great year, so what are you gonna do? The main focus should be the most effective system/format for determining a champion in your given sport, not "entertainment." I like Blaney, so I have no issue with him being the Champion, my issue is with the system itself and it tainting the entire sport of NASCAR, something I value and probably more than the suits that run it.

[@mitchellnewquist137]

I completely agree with you Radman. Another reason why it's completely idiotic to decide the Nascar Championship in one race is because what if the Championship winning car doesn't pass post race inspection? The initial Championship winner would be disqualified finishing 4th in the standings and Nascar would look really stupid celebrating a champion that doesn't actually win it what would they do then? Televise a half hour segment the following day celebrating the new champion who's car passed post race inspection? Imagine the uproar that would cause, the fans would definitely believe it was a conspiracy. Maybe that's what needs to happen in order for the one race Championship to be gone.

[@nicsutton3831]

Keep the format exactly the same except the regular season champion is the actual cup champion then have a second champion for the playoffs, 2 championship in a year but the cup goes for the 26 race points champion

[@sevensynycal]

Nascar should drop the amount of playoff spots from 16 to 12 and have Homestead, Martinsville, and Phoenix decide the champion

[@jingleoctopus4160]

Exactly have a ro12, ro8 and championship round where the points can actually matter

[@the_hunterjay6261]

I say they need to rotate between tracks for the last race every year, make the points worth something throughout the whole season. Unfortunately I say this won't change till the top 4 get knocked out on lap 50 all in the same wreck, then who wins. Lol.

[@sadwvw]

Too bad Nascar doesn't care what you think. A 4 driver playoff finale is more entertaining than a driver being crowned champipn with 4 races left. The only reason the 24 even made it to the championship race is BECAUSE of the regular season so to say it doesn't matter is ignorant. He was terrible in the playoffs and his regular season performance gave him a chance. Blaney stepped up when it mattered I'm sorry HMS was a choke show for you lmao. Maybe they make the championship a round instead of 1 race but I'm sure people would cry about anything these days ❄️❄️❄️

[@Greg1_c]

With this format you can win the championship without any won

[@stevenjenson]

Don’t miss a f1 race and the season was really decided in June 😂 I grew up camping at Atlanta every spring and fall race Thursday through Monday. NASCAR just don’t mean the same now. To many gimmicks and manufactured entertainment.

[@walletracer9882]

Exactly. There is always storylines to follow somewhere that arise naturally, even if it's not P1 in the driver's championship. As someone who grew up all nascar, I've mostly stopped watching the playoffs yet still find myself following F1 even when the champion is already decided. This is bad, especially when the racing in nascar is otherwise much better. The points system has entirely ruined it for me. If you just brought the F1 points system to nascar it would be the absolute peak of motorsport right now.

[@lilsavagenascar5816]

Hot take Blaney is the new the chase Elliot

[@naparacingfan9275]

I'm fed up with this system too. Happy for Blabey but the best most consistent driver all year Byron didn't win the championship. If they have to keep the phony playoffs, ease eliminate the 1 race championship.

[@brycer3476]

Even if the 1 race playoff followed the same format of points mattering and carrying over. This system just throws the whole meaning of the sport out the window for the no reason.

[@Corumred]

Nascar is the one outlier in the "Big 3" Motorsports Indycar and F1 have the same championship way Nascar has "the chase"

[@Gassoholic]

My thoughts on the playoffs. Two rounds. First round is the Chase round: 12 drivers qualify on points, no win and you’re in, 8 races, start at Darlington, end at alternating Martinsville/Bristol, one SS, one RC, rest alternating intermediates. Second round is the Championship: top 6 after the Chase round make it, 3 races, start at Miami, alternating Martinsville/Bristol, end at PHX.

[@walletracer9882]

Preface: haven't watched it yet, but I'm glad you had the guts to post this. Ryan Blaney is a great face for a championship, but he's the most underserved of the bunch-and I don't say this to be critical of him. He's one hell of a driver and a great guy. But this championship format is such a joke; there's very little value to a NASCAR title these days. Imagine if Max Verstappen went to Abu Dhabi and got taken out from a freak brake failure like Bell did today. Even after winning every other race in the season, he could still be taken out of contention just because he ran into a problem in the final race. As an F1 fan, sure, this would be exciting as fuck, but it would be entirely undeserved and be a permanent stain on the sport. But that's basically what NASCAR is doing now every year. The only champion in recent memory who managed to do it fairly even under a traditional format was Kyle Larson in 2021. This year, a traditional format would've left us with a tight battle between Hamlin and Byron, setting up obvious storylines with Denny vs HMS. This would've been exciting and drama-filled regardless. But instead of that, we get a wildcard race with the winner picked out of a hat. I want to have the rest of the season mean something other than people finding their ticket. Even then, if we're going to settle things with a one-race shootout, can we actually go to a proper racetrack like Homestead again? NASCAR is doing everything possible not to be taken seriously by motorsport fans. And to the disgrace of us motorsports fans, they would rather make things more understandable to the stick-and-ball sports crowd who don't know or care anything about racing. The entire season should mean something, not just one race. Compared to other series, nascar is currently closer to gambling than it is a professional sport, and I will die on that hill until they adjust the format. Yes, I am biased here. As both a Mercedes and HMS fan I am pretty dejected today. But I've been saying the same thing every year.

[@parker838]

My championship format would fix this 1 race bs. You have a 24 race regular season and you take the top 16 drivers still, but you get rid of win and your in. You do the playoffs normally but you have a final round with 3 races and you the best of the champ 4 wins the championship. Good compromise with old and new fans. Its pretty sad the whole season is decided in 1 race.

[@herokurogane4055]

Blaney deserves the championship, but not in the way he did so, plus, if people say that the winston format doesnt work nowadays, w-r-o-n-g, with the next gen, it makes stuff stupidly even, heck, the winston format wouldve created absolute championship bangers these last 2 years.

[@hutrod7721]

You would rant if the cup was clinched with 3 races to go like years past NASCAR can't please everybody all the time

[@PaperBanjo64]

9:31 no other racing series runs 36 points paying races, when you only run half those races you don't need a late season reset to shake things up.

[@Dennyhamlin23XI]

Nascar changed the format because they were tired of Jimmie Johnson winning the championship and winning 5 straight 😂

[@BenchwarmerGOAT]

Actually Jimmy won because of the Chase format Jeff Gordon should have been a 7 time Cup Champion

[@Dennyhamlin23XI]

​@@BenchwarmerGOATjeff Gordon should have won the championship in 2014 but someone driving the 2 car had other plans 😢

[@KonnieW12]

Nah they changed it because Kenseth won the title by only winning 1 race and being mad consistent

[@BenchwarmerGOAT]

@@KonnieW12 facts Matt beat Dale Jr by being consistent then the chase started Kurt won a chip then Jimmie ran off 5 straight I quit watching nascar because of the Chase Jeff Gordon should be a 7 time champ

[@BenchwarmerGOAT]

@@KonnieW12 I'm willing to say Dale Earnhardt Sr wouldn't of won 7 chips if Davey Allison didn't pass away

[@Scoe91Til]

Blaney absolutely deserved it. He rose to the occasion and outraced everybody in the playoffs. I agree with the one race thing but to say that Blaney was horrible for half of the season and ignore Bell's results from Bristol to Homestead and Larson's DNFs is something.

[@ringoflatts6571]

Well, Larson would also be an undeserving champion, but Bell was very consistent and would have finished second in points to Byron if it were the Winston points format

[@Scoe91Til]

Well just say that Byron was deserving. Bell was terrible from Bristol through the majority of the summer. I don't care about the old format. I'm going on Radman's words about Blaney being terrible for half a season. So was Bell and Larson. So was majority of the field. Fact is, Blaney outraced them lately including yesterday when he had to pass them 3 times. He went and got it. He deserves it. Simple as that.

[@sunshinecoolwater9528]

Girl, I know you wanted to see Larson win, but NASCAR sets the rules. Steve Phelps needs to be fired from the sanctioning body.

[@ArthurCallahan389]

Harvick is part owner or the CARS Modified series with Jr. & the Trackhouse guy. Jr races a few in that & Harvick has raced in it. I’d assume he still will from time to time so he’s retired from NASCAR, but I doubt he’s done racing! It’s better than NASCAR right now!

[@jonahadkins3084]

I explained all of this to my family after the race last night and was called a bitch for trying to “pussify” nascar…and that if you can make it to the final 4 without winning the you’re a deserving champion…

[@calvinstraveldreams]

So we know the current playoffs SUCK, but what do you all think of this idea?: -10 race chase (top 10 in points+wildcards for anyone between 11th and 30th in points who wins a crown jewel race (Daytona 500, Coca-Cola 600, etc.)). -Success ballast (similar to BTCC/Super GT/WEC Hypercar) during final 10 races, with the ballast being halved in the penultimate round and removed entirely during the final round (this is to prevent a scenario where say, prime Jimmie Johnson can just "turn on the jets" in the last 5 races like he did in 2007/2008). Another idea: -Full 36 race season but split into 4 9-race sections: -Every 9 races, the point values of the races (and point gaps between positions) DOUBLES. This is to prevent 1 team from building up a 2+-race gap 10+ races before the end and subsequently "points racing" (something tells me THIS is what Jimmie Jonson would have done after the 2nd Pocono Race in 2004, for example). -Potentially include success ballast during each 9-race stretch, with the ballast again being halved during the 8th race and removed during the 9th. Ballast resets to 0 after each 9-race stretch. -Team with most points at the end wins the championship.

[@nfsracin3025]

My problem with the one race finale is if all four champ 4 cars wreck out the rest of the race no longer matters

[@gjones6205]

Remember Matt crafton won the title with no wins a few years back

[@PaperBanjo64]

Now that's a farce! But what do expect from Trucks!?

[@gjones6205]

@@PaperBanjo64 exactly 😭

[@sw120]

I think we need to make this a final round of 3 races with the rest of the playoffs. Have a good balance of tracks in there, and whoever earns the most points wins it. The logistics would be complicated to fix, more travel for the teams, more races in the middle of the NFL season, overall fatigue of everyone having to make cars and drive them for 40 races in the span of 42 weeks, but it fixes the biggest issue of the championship. Keeps the playoffs but the final 4 teams will also have to be excellent for 3 races instead of just 1 where anything can happen