NASCAR’s playoff system is broken. Joey Logano’s win should be a tipping point
Jeff Gluck
AVONDALE, Ariz. — Joey Logano elevated himself to the upper echelon of
NASCAR’s all-time champions on Sunday, becoming just
the third driver to win at least three Cup Series titles.
Yet in the hours since the checkered flag, many NASCAR fans have found themselves unable to appreciate Logano’s achievement. On X, some erupted with a level of hostility that was notable even for an already-angry platform; in person, they quickly and quietly filed out of the grandstands instead of sticking around to watch the new champion’s celebration.
The NASCAR playoff format is broken. But to understand what needs to happen next, we first have to look at how NASCAR got here.
In 2003, bored by Matt Kenseth’s consistent but unspectacular march to the season-long championship, newly appointed NASCAR CEO Brian France devised a first-of-its-kind playoff system for motorsports that went against the entirety of racing history: a 10-week-long “Chase for the Cup.”
Previously, a motorsport champion was viewed as the best driver over the course of a full season. Unlike the
NFL or
NBA, no racetrack is the same; the field of play changes every week, which requires different driving styles and car setups. Traditionally, a driver and team must prove their worth over a large sample size to be viewed as the best.
But with NASCAR’s popularity skyrocketing, France aimed to change that. Salivating at the opportunity to challenge the NFL for American sports dominance, he implemented a concept already familiar to mainstream sports fans:
playoffs. France figured he could grab new eyeballs to boost TV ratings and attention for NASCAR during a time of year when it was head-to-head with the NFL, and — as crazy as it sounds now — there were people who really thought NASCAR could own those fall Sundays.
Except it didn’t work. After a short-lived boost in metrics, France’s 10-week-long “Chase” did not achieve its desired result. Ratings and attendance began to dip sharply, which looked worse when it later coincided with the country’s economic downturn in 2008. It didn’t help that one driver, Jimmie Johnson, won the Chase five years in a row in a relentless grip on the series.
So after Johnson’s sixth title in 10 years of the initial format, France grew restless again and made an even more desperate move in 2014: An elimination-style playoff system that would whittle the field to four drivers, then have them square off for a single, winner-take-all championship race.
The entire purpose was to inject so much drama into the end of NASCAR’s season — “Game 7 moments,” as France infamously said — that non-traditional racing fans would tune in to witness the excitement of elimination races and the championship event.
That increased interest never came. And now, more than six years since France stepped down after being arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated in the Hamptons, NASCAR has been unable to extricate itself from his convoluted format.
To be fair, there hasn’t always been much urgency to do so. The championship format is a consistent debate topic that simmers but rarely reaches a full boil. There have been enough seasons where the eventual champion of the elimination playoffs fits the season-long narrative and justifies why that person won the title. At times, it can pass the eye test in a traditional motorsports sense.
Logano upended that on Sunday, and now it’s fair to wonder if NASCAR will react with a change — much in the same way France did after Kenseth’s 2003 dominance and Johnson’s mass of trophies.
It’s not Logano’s fault, of course. He and his team so perfectly executed exactly what they were supposed to do with a car that wasn’t fast enough to win a championship for much of the season that it came off as exploiting a loophole:
• Logano would not have made the playoffs without
a borderline miraculous victory at Nashville, during which he improbably stretched his fuel through five overtime periods in a Hail Mary strategy move.
• Logano was eliminated from the playoffs after the second round,
only to be reinstated a few hours later when another competitor’s car was ruled to be illegal.
• Logano then won his way into the championship race thanks to
a perfectly timed caution at Las Vegas, which enabled his team to try a risky fuel-strategy gamble yet again after he wasn’t fast enough to win that day.
• Logano
had two weeks to prepare for the Phoenix race and was able to perfectly defend his line in the closing laps by blocking a faster car (teammate Ryan Blaney) behind him.
Aside from winning four races this season, Logano’s other statistics were the lowest ever (some by far) for a NASCAR champion. His average finish this year was 17.1, which ranks 13th in the series. He had just the 12th-most points scored this season — fewer than Chris Buescher, who didn’t even make the playoffs. Logano ranked 11th in top-five finishes and 13th in top-10 finishes.
The series champion having those numbers, regardless of who it is, makes it worth wondering whether this has reached a tipping point for fans. In the hours since the checkered flag, many have sent thoughtful direct messages and emails expressing why they fear it will be harder to retain their interest and enthusiasm next season; Logano winning simply has little correlation to what fans watched for the majority of the year.
Make no mistake: There are certainly strong proponents of the format — Logano included. The supporters like to note upsets happen in every form of playoffs; after all, that’s what makes it fun to see a No. 15 seed upset a No. 2 in the NCAA Tournament or watch a wild-card team make a Super Bowl run.
Except arguments in that vein always miss a crucial point: Those are one-on-one matchups, whereas NASCAR puts all the non-playoff drivers on the “field” together at the same time. If you look at the recent race at Martinsville Speedway as a football game, William Byron scored a touchdown and advanced to the next round because players from two non-playoff teams
escorted him to the end zone as blockers.
Even in Sunday’s race, the pivotal caution flag was brought out by Zane Smith — a rookie who finished 30th in the standings this season. Logano made a bold move on the ensuing restart to take the lead, and he never relinquished it.
That’s terrific for him, and
he deserves all the credit for winning in a system that allowed this. There may be no one better in NASCAR history than Logano at maximizing the situation — whether that’s the format, the speed of his car or fuel strategy. Aside from already being one of NASCAR’s greats, Logano also happens to be a fantastic ambassador off the track.
Criticism of the format should not be confused with criticism of Logano.
But as a sport, NASCAR needs to have a system that allows fans to embrace greatness. It would be one thing if 11 years of this elimination format and 21 overall years of playoffs generated such a high entertainment value that it boosted the sport’s numbers and ensured its long-term viability; if anything, it’s done the opposite.
NASCAR is arguably weaker today because of the playoffs. From this view, NASCAR is lower on the sports ladder because France got greedy and made a generation-altering miscalculation.
Thankfully, he’s no longer in charge. But those who are should move quickly to create their own legacy by putting France’s creation in the rear-view mirror.
From Jeff Gluck per The athletic
beyondtheflag.com
