AVONDALE, Ariz. — NASCAR is not going away from the playoffs; executives have made that explicitly clear. However, there could be tweaks to the format as it undergoes an offseason evaluation.
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So what do the drivers want to see?
"Just a bigger sample size. I mean, that's the biggest thing," Denny Hamlin said in response to a question from FanBuzz. "However you come about it, I think that there's tons of discussion on ways that could improve it.
"I agree that the playoffs will never go away, which that's quite alright. But certainly, I think the small sample size is really tough."
The current playoff format starts with 16 drivers. One is the regular-season champion. The rest either won a race or pointed their way above the cutline in the first 26 races of the season.
The playoff drivers compete in three races and then four get eliminated. These twelve move on and compete in three more races. Once again, four drivers are eliminated.
The third round of the playoffs features eight drivers competing over three races. Only four move on to the final round of the playoffs, which consists of one championship event. Since 2020, this event has been at Phoenix Raceway.
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The best drivers don't necessarily always move on in this format. Sometimes, one of the best gets eliminated due to a mechanical issue or an unexpected wreck caused by another driver. Sometimes, a driver who has struggled all season gets a win at the right time.
"Racing has so many variables to it. You have to create a larger sample size to get the true answer," Hamlin added. "So I just believe that we don't live in a one-on-one sport.
"We don't get a seven-game series or anything like that. We live in a world where, in our sport, only when our competition makes a mistake, it can cost us."
Hamlin is not the only driver who weighed in on this topic. FanBuzz spoke to multiple media members before Joey Logano won his third Cup Series title. Many said that they don't know if there is a perfect format and that some drivers would inevitably get the raw end of the deal regardless of the format.
"I think the emphasis on winning is not bad, but there probably does need to be something," Chase Briscoe said. "I don't know. It's tough because you can be the best team in any sport, right, and have a bad playoff in your first round and you're out. So I mean, it's just part of it."
Josh Berry proposed tweaking the format to where there are only two elimination rounds and then multiple races for the championship round. He said it could potentially eliminate the controversy from Martinsville where NASCAR determined that two Chevrolet teams and one Toyota team tried to manipulate the outcome of the race.
Kyle Busch and Michael McDowell mentioned the possibility of tweaking the points during elimination rounds.
For example, if there are eight remaining drivers, there would only be eight points they could gain or lose based on track position. Passing non-playoff drivers wouldn't matter to the championship battle.
"I don't feel like it's a disaster," McDowell said about the format. "I feel like it's produced really good racing, but there's so much on the line. And when every point matters like that, I think maybe those guys should just be racing each other and not racing all of us for points.
"So what I mean by that is like, if you're running 10th, and (Christopher) Bell's running 20th, but he's the next playoff car, that's only one point instead of the nine points being in between there."
One aspect that many drivers agreed on is that the "Game 7 moments" can be huge for the sport. Ross Chastain riding the wall — a move that is now illegal — made waves. So did Tyler Reddick using the high line to pass Ryan Blaney in the final turn at Homestead to reach the Championship 4 for the first time.
These moments go viral and showcase the do-or-die aspect of the playoff format. However, some drivers have a concern about potentially watering down the product.
"We've just narrowed it down to try to get these exciting moments, week in, week out," Hamlin said. I just think that there's a long-term negative effect."
Of course, some drivers have no issues with the playoff format, which only adds to the complexity of the discussion. They embrace this elimination format and what it takes to reach the Championship 4.
Logano is a prominent member of this group, something that is understandable considering that he has won three championships and reached the Championship 4 in six separate seasons since NASCAR introduced the elimination format.
"This is the 11th year, and now we're complaining about it," Logano told Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi during his appearance on "The Teardown" Sunday night. "Come on. The first time we did it, 'This was great!' Everyone loved it.
"...Can we tweak things? Sure. Gosh, it just makes incredible storylines all the way through, and everyone has the same opportunity."
