Is Joey Logano’s championship win a deserving one? This has been the hot topic of discussion among NASCAR circles, and it all boils down to one thing: the criticism of the current playoffs format. It is as if the consistent results in the regular season don’t count for much when the points are reset after 28 races. And all the drivers need to reach the final 16 is a single win.

Joey Logano and Team Penske seem to have hacked this system. And ever since the Next Gen cars have rolled, they’ve gone on to bag three consecutive titles. The third one came at Phoenix last Sunday, and this win by Logano and the #22 wasn’t appreciated by all the fans. Interestingly, he got the support of his former teammate Brad Keselowski, who perfectly summed up how the NASCAR community feels about the playoff format.

Brad Keselowski calls the current playoff format a double-edged sword

Well, Logano made his place in the playoffs by a single win that came at Nashville, ending with five overtime. A slice of luck was involved with this win, and it got him in the business half of the season. Moreover, he got lucky again after Alex Bowman was disqualified after his car was overweight at Roval. This allowed him entry in the Round of 8, and once again, all he needed was one win to reach Phoenix.

It was as if the stars aligned perfectly for him, and he won in Las Vegas using the fuel mileage strategy. Once he saw the third championship win in his reach, he went all out and gave his best performance of this season. This might be viewed as a case of a driver milking the format and making the optimal use of it to reach the final objective. But Brad Keselowski had a rather different opinion on the same.

Sharing an open-ended suggestion that also leads to more questions and discussion, Keselowski posted this on X: “2 things can be true at the same time- Joey Logano deserved to win the championship; This format doesn’t feel ideal for rewarding the NASCAR cup championship.” Brad Keselowski’s strong defense of his former Penske friend remains a testament to their journey together. Joey Logano once referred to their relationship as a “marriage”.

Basically, what Brad Keselowski wants to convey is that Logano and the team didn’t cheat or rig the race to their advantage. They only made the most of the format in a way that worked in their favor, which is why he is a Cup Series champion for the third time. But the second part touched upon his reservation about how the format is far from perfect and leads to massive upsets and spoiler wins.

Meanwhile, Joey Logano, who made history last weekend, wasn’t sold on the criticism and shared his take on the playoff format.

Logano isn’t concerned about the criticism he’s facing after the Phoenix win

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The playoffs or the Chase as it was once called, have gone through several changes since its inception. Back in 2011 to 2013, a similar model was used where the top 10 drivers and two wildcard entries would make the playoffs. But rather than elimination-style racing, the driver with the best points tally in the 10 races would be crowned as the winner. But now the driver’s field starts to dwindle after each round, and there’s also the option of win and you’re in that only stirs up more drama.

While the current playoff format gets a lot of flack from the community, Logano is in favor of it. Not because he was able to win two championships using it, but because of the storyline and thrilling action it produces. “Do you want to see the championship crown with three races to go? That’s pretty boring.” Logano said this after winning the championship in Phoenix.

He further rallied behind the current format by stating, “You get do or die moments; you got the pressure; you got all these things going on in the last 10 weeks. You have guys trying to get into the playoffs; you have that storyline. Gosh, how many storylines can we make? It’s amazing, right? For people to complain, it makes me mad; it makes me so frustrated to hear that.”

Now the playoff format is indeed a slippery slope, and the fans have to experience both the good and the bad that comes from it. But which side are you on? Do you like the current format, or would you like to see changes made to it?