Entering the Darlington race, the question many want answers to was, will Kyle Busch finally end his winless drought? Will Bubba Wallace beat Chris Buescher for the 16th spot? But the race gods and Chase Briscoe had different plans. One new driver ended the playoff hopes for many. Firstly, the fierce battle of Wallace and Buescher in the race was rendered useless as the spot they fought for disappeared because of the one that Briscoe took after winning the race.

Secondly, Briscoe fended off an equally desperate Kyle Busch. It must have been no easy task to keep the two-time NASCAR series champion at bay. However, Briscoe prevailed in securing a spot for Stewart-Haas Racing just weeks before the team’s shutdown. Busch, who had finished second in the two previous races, narrowly missed the playoffs for the first time since 2012. Other than Wallace, Buescher, and Busch, there are more characters in the upset story of Darlington.

Many notable drivers won’t race in the 2024 playoffs

The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series regular season concluded with a dramatic finish. Tyler Reddick, despite finishing 10th in the race, secured the regular season championship as he started the race with a 17-point advantage. While Kyle Larson, who led more than 250 laps in the 367-lap race, missed out. Although he ended his regular season with four wins, the highest this year. Martin Truex Jr, despite getting out in the second lap of the race, bagged the 16th and the final spot of the playoffs, thanks to his +58 points cushion before the race.

Yet, not everyone was this fortunate. The list of upsets is equally long, including other drivers like Ross Chastain, who entered the Southern 500, 27 points below the playoff cutline and desperately needed a win. He implemented a risky strategy, pitting early and driving as high as fourth before fading back. On the penultimate restart, he remained out front, the only car to do so. While the strategy paid off, it wasn’t enough. Chastain finished fifth, falling short of the necessary victory. He left Darlington 33 points below the cutline, having also failed to earn any stage points during the race. Not playing in the 2024 season must be disappointing as he had managed 2 wins in the last season, showing splendid consistency throughout.

Also missing out on the playoffs is Michael McDowell. The number 34 won his way into the 2023 playoffs when he got the golden opportunity to kiss the bricks on the Indianapolis track. McDowell, who had previously achieved top-10 finishes in three of five Darlington races with the Next Gen car, was considered a potential dark horse for a strong showing at the Cook Out Southern 500. Although his finish was just as poor as his start. He finished in the 28th position. McDowell had at least 5 opportunities to bag a win this season as he started five times on the pole at Atlanta, Talladega, World Wide Technology Raceway, and at the recent Daytona race.

Next up, Ricky Stenhouse Jr, too, did not make it to the playoffs this year. The two-time Xfinity Series Champion and the Daytona 500 owner, hasn’t had his best season so far. In all the regular season races this year, he only managed two top-5 finishes. Stenhouse was coming from a previous season high where he earned multiple top-five finishes and top-10 finishes. He had an average finish of 17.8, his best in seven years. Nevertheless, his dream of a back-to-back playoff ended with with finishing 22nd in Darlington.

Lastly, Austin Dillon, who bagged an illegal win in Richmond, also has his playoff dreams over alongside his teammate. The multiple-time Cup Series race winner was hopeful to make a comeback in playoffs after he failed to do so in 2023. For Dillon, the season hasn’t been ideal. he managed only one top-5 this year. For Richard Childress’s grandson, Darlington was the last chance, but he failed to get a win. After finishing in 15th; he said, “We could have had a shot there at the end. We were well within the top 10 and battling for position when a multi-car incident happened, and we ended up with damage. We lost track position pitting for repairs but fought back to finish 15th. I’m proud of this entire team.”

Yet another instance of consistency being beaten by the ‘win it and you are in’ rule. Had this rule not been there, the playoff picture could have been completely different.

Another ‘win it and you are in’ case

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This rule has long been debated in the NASCAR community, as it undermines a driver’s consistently good performance. The “win and you’re in” rule in NASCAR’s playoffs makes it difficult to view the championship as a true reflection of the best driver. Instead, maybe the format should prioritize determining the year’s top driver through a set of agreed-upon rules. The rule makes things exciting, but a driver who has consistently gathered points has less value than a diver who just swooped in at the last moment and surprisingly got a win.

If we see Chase Briscoe’s case, yes, he showed tremendous pace and skill in Darlington, but what about other races and his entire 2024 season? He is placed above Kyle Busch who got relegated despite getting top 5 in the last three races. And Briscoe even after his win is lower in points than Busch. Even for that matter, Daniel Suarez and Austin Cindric have not had the best seasons yet they are locked in the playoffs because of a win.

Recently Veteran Denny Hamlin too spoke on the subject, he said, “I’m just not sure. Maybe just thinking out loud. Does everyone go in the playoffs? Once you’re eliminated, you go back to your normal points position. Something like that where at least your whole season is put into the final result, not just one race that changed your entire trajectory.”

This has happened many times this season. For example, Austin Dillon won his fifth career race at Richmond Raceway by spinning Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin on the final lap. His playoff berth, however, was revoked. In another example, a surprising upset at Daytona International Speedway by Harrison Burton won him his first race by passing Kyle Busch on the last lap and holding off a close finish. Both the drivers had no consistency this entire season and were below the 30th position in points when they won.

The question is between thrill and fairness. What do you think about this rule? Let us know in the comments below.