Danielle Trotta’s Comments Spark War of Words With Mark Martin

What’s Happening?

What started as off-hand comments on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio has turned into a full-on social media frenzy for NASCAR fans, and at the center of it are Danielle Trotta, Mark Martin, and the NASCAR Playoffs.

Here is the clip pic.twitter.com/XDr2rnCgyi

— megadoomer (@Megafrayder2) July 22, 2025

Update: In a post on X, Larry McReynolds clarified that, “Mark Martin is my hero and proud to call him a friend!” McReynolds further stated that he was not referring to Martin. Rather, he was referring to an active driver in the Cup Series garage and on the council, with some suspecting Denny Hamlin to be the culprit.

During Tuesday’s episode of SiriusXM NASCAR Radio’s On Track, co-hosts Danielle Trotta and Larry McReynolds were discussing the NASCAR playoff committee, a committee put together by NASCAR to discuss the potential for a new playoff system.

Trotta, a veteran of NASCAR media, said to McReynolds:

“They have these committees now where drivers sit in, and I’m not gonna mention the driver that’s on the playoff committee that I have heard is screaming loudly to go back to that system.” — Daniel Trotta

“That system” is known by many names, such as the full-season, Winston Cup, or the Latford system, a championship points system NASCAR used that rewarded driver consistency and met its end after the 2003 season. Though that driver went unnamed, to those listeners active on NASCAR social media, it’s no secret who Trotta was referring to.

Even McReynolds knew, asking Trotta, “Bet it’s a driver that has not won a championship,” to which she responded, “Correct.” Following this interaction, fans took to X, with one fan responding to NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, a NASCAR legend who, though he never won a title, has an outspoken love for that championship format.

*logs onto social media*

*sees that establishment nascar media are beefing with mark martin over the playoff format* pic.twitter.com/IOaCqXKGAW

— Eric Estepp (@EricEstepp17) July 22, 2025

Martin, who retired from NASCAR competition after 2013, has been on a one-man campaign to return to a full-season points system, reportedly both in committee meetings and on social media. At times, Martin has even referred to himself as “The Race Fan’s Voice” and conducted online polls to see what championship format fans prefer.

Though it was easy to deduce that Martin is the nameless committee member Trotta was referring to, it was still, technically, a mystery. That seemingly was until Trotta responded in that thread on Martin’s social media, saying:

“Mark you know I love you but what we got is a whole lot better than what we used to do. We need a playoff we need eliminations we need to reward winning and consistency. This format does it all & is highly entertaining!” — Daniel Trotta via X

In response, Martin did not hold back, telling Trotta on X, “NO WE DONT.” Alongside Martin came an armada of NASCAR fans, many of whom expressed their frustrations with NASCAR’s brass’s refusal to change the playoff format.

Aside from his response directed at Trotta, Martin also responded to the SiriusXM clip, posting on X, “They want a system that is different than what the MAJORITY of @NASCAR cup fans want. I just want the majority of fans to get what they want.”

NASCAR’s Hunt for a New Playoff System

The current system, introduced in 2014, is not NASCAR’s first playoff, though it technically is by name. The first NASCAR ‘postseason’ was the 2004 Chase for the Cup.

Though a radical idea at the time, the current system is a far cry from the original chase. It bumps the number of drivers from 10 to 16 and has four rounds with four eliminations every round.

Furthermore, drivers can lock themselves into the playoffs by simply winning a race during the 26-race regular season, leading to long-shot underdogs who often fizzle out one to two races into the bracket.

The playoff system can be exciting at times, but some fans have come to recognize the sheer chaos, and ‘game seven’ moments have been hit with diminishing returns. This year, NASCAR is openly investigating whether or not to change the system, with drivers and other stakeholders meeting to discuss potential modifications to the current system or even other options.

Just like these fans, Martin has seemed desperate to get his point across. On the Jun. 19 episode of his podcast, Martin told Kenny Wallace that the choice is not up to the fans, drivers, or even NASCAR. The Hall of Fame driver told Wallace, “It’s up to the TV.”

NASCAR has yet to announce a new format, though some insiders have suggested an announcement will come before the end of the summer.

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