Despite Being “Pissed Off” About Martinsville Finish, NASCAR Confirms Future of The Playoffs
What’s Happening? NASCAR President Steve Phelps and COO Steve O’Donnell sat down with NASCAR’s media for the State of the Sport…
NASCAR is publicly seeking a new Playoff or even Championship Points system for the future. This story will unfold throughout the 2025 season, and this tracker will provide you with all the breaking news and context needed to understand NASCAR’s pursuit.
NASCAR’s current Playoff system, introduced in 2014, is a far cry from the sport’s first playoff, introduced in 2004 as the Chase. The round-to-round, win-and-elimination-style 10-race, 16-driver playoff has had a controversial history.
This controversy included the system rewarding drivers with poor statistics and those who did not start every race with a championship shot. This all came to a head last fall when Joey Logano, who had one of his worst career seasons, walked away with the title.
Compared to past Champions, Logano’s seven top-fives, 13 top-tens, and 17.1 average finish failed to stack up to even the most controversial of champions, including himself in 2022. Fans, media personalities, drivers, and content creators all flocked to the NASCAR online community to express their displeasure with this result
NASCAR was already under pressure about the system entering Phoenix, as the Martinsville Round of Four cutoff race saw a controversial finish in which drivers assisted their fellow OEM teammates in advancing to the championship race.
Following this race, NASCAR COO Steve O’Donnell addressed the Playoffs at the State of the Sport press conference before Logano’s win. O’Donnell claimed that in all sports, the best team or athlete may not win the championship. However, O’Donnell did claim that NASCAR would look into the playoffs. He hinted that the playoffs themselves wouldn’t go anywhere, as the playoff racing style justifies the system in its own right.
What’s Happening? NASCAR President Steve Phelps and COO Steve O’Donnell sat down with NASCAR’s media for the State of the Sport…
“We’ll absolutely look at you know what form the playoffs take in the offseason,” O’Donnell said. “You always learn, like I said before. But the playoffs in and of themselves, as Steve said, you cannot argue with the racing of the playoffs.”
However, following Logano’s victory, NASCAR’s tune on changing the playoffs slightly changed. On Nov. 12, NASCAR Senior Vice President of Competition Elton Sawyer confirmed that NASCAR was indeed open to changing the format.
Sawyer told Sirius XM NASCAR Radio, “You know, we’re all ears on it, and we have some ideas, but we want to make sure as an industry, you know, we’re doing the right thing for our sport and the right thing to crown our champions.”
What’s Happening? We finally have word on how NASCAR feels about changing its championship format. These comments follow online discontent from…
While NASCAR confirmed on Jan. 27 that it will maintain the current format for 2025, the system will be reviewed throughout the season. This ultimately took shape in an industry-wide committee that met during Daytona speed weeks.
Little detail was provided about what exactly happened at NASCAR’s first playoff committee meeting until the Feb. 26 episode of NASCAR’s Hauler Talk podcast. NASCAR’s Managing Director of Racing Communications, Mike Forde, a committee member and co-host of Hauler Talk, revealed surface-level details about the committee.
Key figures include Ben Kennedy, NASCAR’s SVP for Strategy & Innovation, who Forde claims is the chairperson of the committee, and Tim Clark, NASCAR’s Executive Vice President and Chief Brand Officer. Forde also mentioned Julia Landauer, a former ARCA Menards Series West regular.
The rest of the members include representatives from teams, networks, and OEMs. However, when it comes to drivers, Forde states that there is a mix of current drivers and Hall of Famers. He even hints that “a lot of them have podcasts” and that “you also have two drivers who are also owners that are in it.”
Forde did not name specific industry members but mentioned that it consists of major names and options for current and retired drivers who own teams, host podcasts, or are in the Hall of Fame. He also clarified that the roughly 25-person panel also includes representatives from teams, OEMs, and NASCAR’s TV partners.
Most importantly, Forde revealed that Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell, who he claims “NASCAR has really turned to him as a leader in the garage,” is also a member.
Forde did not go into detail about what was discussed during the meeting. But mentioned that one Hall of Famer pitched a return to the 36-race season, and others suggested a three-race final round, a “seven-race lead into a three-race championship,” and cutting the field down to 12 or ten drivers.
What’s Happening? In the latest episode of NASCAR’s Hauler Talk, NASCAR Managing Director of Racing Communications Mike Forde gave insight into…
In an episode of NASCAR’s Hauler Talk Podcast, Mike Forde, NASCAR’s Managing Director of Racing Communications and a member of the NASCAR Playoff Committee, gave surface-level details on what happened during NASCAR’s first Playoff Committee Meeting.
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