Mark Martin On What NASCAR Doesn’t Want Fans to Know About New Playoff Format: “It’s Not Up to the Fans”

What’s Happening?

NASCAR legend Mark Martin recently joined Kenny Wallace for a discussion about the state of NASCAR. During this discussion, Martin, an avid defender of NASCAR’s defunct season-long points system, broke down why fan sentiment will never bring back that points system.

It’s no secret that NASCAR is seeking the right way to crown its champion. NASCAR officials have been open about the fact that a committee of drivers, both current and former, media members, and other stakeholders is working together to find the best direction for NASCAR’s championship format.

Some of the discussions from this committee have gone public at times, with different parties stating that there are individuals on the committee who believe a full-season point system is the right direction for NASCAR to take.

That system would see points collected over the season’s 36 races from start to finish, ultimately crowning the best driver as champion. This more traditional format is opposed to NASCAR’s current playoff system, which breaks off the last 10 races of the season to crown a champion from a group of 16 drivers.

One notable and avid defender of the season-long NASCAR points system is Mark Martin, who often openly discusses this debate on his X account. This campaign included a May 23 poll that had over 21,000 votes asking fans what system they would like to see NASCAR use. Since then, Martin has often cited that the results of this poll justify his stance.

What point system do you think @NASCAR should use.
I’m curious.

— Mark Martin (@markmartin) May 23, 2025

Martin returned to his discussion about the playoff system earlier this week, posting on X, “The problem with having a committee to make a decision is if you have the wrong people on the committee, you get the wrong decision. Facts.”

This post, combined with the discussion surrounding Shane van Gisbergen qualifying for the playoffs, reignited the playoff conversation online. This debate prompted former NASCAR driver, NASCAR media personality, and longtime friend of Martin, Kenny Wallace, to invite the NASCAR Hall of Famer onto his YouTube channel to discuss the state of NASCAR.

During this discussion, Martin explained why he feels he’s the voice of NASCAR fans and why, despite his lobbying, NASCAR will not return to a full-season point system.

“I Am the Race Fan’s Voice”

Among other conversations about the playoffs during this chat, Martin explained why he posted the now-infamous poll. “All I wanted is to know what the fans want,“ Martin said.

The NASCAR legend feels that, though this poll may not accurately reflect his opinion, NASCAR fans are looking for someone of his stature to advocate for the direction they feel NASCAR officials should take with the points system.

“The fans want someone with a voice to stand up and say what they think,” Martin said. “So I am the race fan’s voice.”

Martin even went as far as to say that if the poll had not gone the way he expected, he would have “shut the heck up.” Nonetheless, the results of that poll reassured Martin’s beliefs, as he told Wallace, “The poll told me that they [NASCAR fans] want me to stand up for them and voice their opinion.”

In the voting, the full-season point system received 59.7% of votes among the four options, followed by the original ‘Chase’ format, then an alternative option, with the current playoff system receiving the fewest votes. However, despite the support, the 66-year-old racing icon knows that fan opinion is not the deciding factor in bringing back a traditional point system; rather, that decision is up to the TV partners.

An Issue of Integrity

TV money has changed many sports throughout the years. Networks are seeking exciting watchable content, even if that means playing a role in decisions regarding rules and traditions of different sports.

That doesn’t mean that NASCAR and its teams benefit from the money brought in from TV rights deals. But with the networks spending hefty sums of money to air the product, they have a seat at the table as stakeholders in the sport. As a result, in Martin’s eyes, the networks are the ones with the real say in a future points system.

“I’ll tell you something, NASCAR is not gonna put that poll out. They don’t want the answer, because they don’t want the fans to know that it’s not up to the fans. It’s up to the TV.” — Mark Martin

Furthermore, while fans may not feel they have a voice, the committee is likely not going to help the issue at hand, as Martin believes:

“The people on the committee are all beholding to the almighty dollar. And so there’s no way they’re gonna go back to 36 races because they think that that won’t please the TV networks.” — Mark Martin

That’s not to say that Martin has an issue with NASCAR’s TV partners. The racer mentioned that he understands that TV money is important to the sport’s overall health.

Nonetheless, Martin believes that this is an issue of the integrity of the sport, something that needs a firm foundation to build off of. “The integrity of our sport is important to me. I feel like what I accomplished in my career is being diminished by gimmicks.”

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