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We are through two races in the first round of the NASCAR Playoffs, and several drivers fell victim to wild races in the first round of the playoffs. But is this first-round calamity a sign of things to come in 2024?
The first round of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs is underway, and several drivers are facing a major hill to climb this weekend at Bristol. Unlike in the past, the names on this list are unexpected, just like the names over the cut line.
These “upsets” are due in part to the wild first two races fans saw at Atlanta and Watkins Glen. Due to the shuffled schedule, this year’s playoffs feature a back-to-back drafting track and a road course.
Wrecks and underdog runs in these races resulted in drivers like Daniel Suarez, Austin Cindric, and Alex Bowman sitting comfortably above the cutoff line. However, Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, and Martin Truex Jr. face elimination with one race to go.
As headline-worthy as this unpredictable scenario is, it could be a glimpse into the near future of the NASCAR Playoffs.
The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is dramatically different from this year’s, including new tracks, new race weekends, and an entirely revamped Playoff schedule. This new Playoff schedule is, in fact, pretty absurd, with rounds resorted and related, as they seemingly get more chaotic as the season winds down.
The first Round of the playoffs features Darlington, WWT Raceway, and Bristol. All three have seen a rotating door of winners in the past few seasons, with Darlington and Bristol known for their wild racing and historic finishes.
Entering the Round of 12, they turn up the speed with race number two at Kansas, which has had some of the best Next Gen Racing of all tracks. However, the cutoff race at the Charlotte Roval is going to surely spell disaster for some of your favorite drivers.
Round three is the most chaotic. Las Vegas starts the round-off with a race that has seemingly had drama throughout the past few seasons. However, NASCAR moved Talladega in at race number two and will end the Round with Martinsville.
So, what can we learn about this schedule?
At the very least, one thing is clear: we will not see as much chaos right off the bat in 2025 as we have seen this year. The first four to five races are open for upsets. However, they could pick off the mid-pack drivers of the first 16 to 12 drivers.
While this is good for competition purposes, as many complain, the Playoffs have too many drivers to begin with. However, the crazy ending leaves the door open for the action we’ve seen already this season.
Some could slip through the first few rounds and take advantage of the Chaos to find a path through. Names like Shane Van Gisbergen and A.J. Allmendinger come to mind.
For example, with solid and consistent runs in the first round, one of the two road course aces could win the Roval, head to the winner-take-all all at Talladega, coast through Martinsville, and onto the Championship four.
This calamity this year might be the future of the NASCAR Playoffs. But we could still see those top drivers use the calm start to the 2025 Playoffs to, once again, cruise into the Championship Four.
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