The Playoffs Need to Change

By: Derek Pierce

It started when Austin Dillon won at Richmond. The driver 31st in points was going to be racing for a championship over someone that was in the top 15. However, the actions Dillon took to win that race resulted in a loss of playoff eligibility and NASCAR seemed to have saved the integrity of the playoff system. But their wildcard race at Daytona stripped it right back away. Harrison Burton gets a push on the last lap to pass a two time champion, Kyle Busch, to win the race and make the playoffs as the driver that is in last place in the point standings. This is why the playoffs need to change.

Before this season neither of these wins would have mattered for the playoffs as there was a rule that you had to be at least 30th in points standings after the regular season finale for your win to put you into the playoffs. For an unknown reason, NASCAR decided to get rid of that rule this season. I believe that they had gotten complacent with the fact that before this season, no driver that finished the regular season with a win was below even 20th in points. So they scrapped the rule and now it has bitten them in the worst way possible.

Currently the playoff bubble leaves a couple notable drivers out of the playoffs. Bubba Wallace and Ross Chastain are both on the outside looking in needing 21 and 27 points respectively to surpass Chris Buescher for the final cutoff spot. If a new driver were to win that would knock out Buescher and he would need to gain 18 points on Ty Gibbs.

If the top 30 rule was still in place this season, obviously Burton’s victory wouldn’t count towards the playoffs leaving another spot for someone to make it in on points. The playoff bubble would leave Wallace as the last driver in with Ross Chastain only 6 points behind him while Gibbs and Buescher would be feeling good about their chances of making it without needing a great race. 

Should NASCAR have chosen to get rid of the “win and in” rule as many fans wish they would do, the playoff picture starts to look a lot differently. Everyone mentioned previously would be completely locked in based on their points. The winners that would be knocked out are Austin Cindric, Daniel Suarez, and Burton. This opens up one extra spot for the top 16 which would then be Kyle Busch and he would be the only driver that could get knocked out of the playoffs and there would only be two drivers that could pull it off. Daniel Suarez (-25) and Chase Briscoe (-38). While not impossible margins, given the performances throughout the year I don’t think they would make that up.

Going off talking points from social media fans, media, and professionals, I think the best rule to implement that caters to the fans while keeping the teams happy would be a top 25 rule. Initially I thought going to top 20 would create the same effect as Burton would still be the only winner eliminated, but it would also prevent drivers like Carson Hocevar, Michael McDowell, and Noah Gragson who have all proven to be talented drivers capable of putting together good races that outperform their given equipment that are outside of that top 20 cutoff from making it into the playoffs with a win. 

The top 25 allows for underdogs to become playoff drivers and get a taste of that chase for the championship while preventing teams that have no business of being in the playoffs from spoiling a good team from getting in as the 21 team did with the 23. 

Bottom line is that NASCAR has to do something about their win and in system before all integrity of the playoffs and the championship is stripped away by drivers that are bottom 5 in standings making it in the playoffs and kicking out someone who could be a championship contender. A top 25 rule is the perfect middle ground for not only forcing a team to be good for an entire season and rewarding them for it, but also adds more strength and integrity to the playoff system celebrating drivers that deserve to be there.