The elimination race at Bristol Motor Speedway was an evening of heartbreaks, accompanied by loud booing for the victor Denny Hamlin. While fans seemed to be critical of the victory of the Joe Gibbs Racing driver, they were disappointed to witness the elimination of the reigning champion Joey Logano, and retiring driver Kevin Harvick from the championship contention.

Although the drivers below the cutline along with the two Cup Series champions had put up an indomitable position, it was due to the system of the playoffs or the sport in general that compelled the drivers to be eliminated from the championship run. However, can this system of elimination be justified as fair? Well, the veteran driver doesn’t seem so.

Former Cup Series driver delivers a sarcastic take on NASCAR

Unlike the past year’s Cup Series where there were 19 different race winners, the 2023 season was a repetition of faces in the victory lane. As a result, three of the drivers, including Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, and Bubba Wallace, were able to enter the playoffs on the basis of points. However, this did not ensure that the drivers could stay safe from the clutches of elimination if they stumbled from delivering a favorable result. 

This was perhaps one of the reasons that played a pivotal role in the elimination of the four drivers from the Round of 12. While Kevin Harvick struggled with his No.4 Ford and Joey was wrecked out of the race, Michael McDowell on the contrary after delivering a clinical performance, failed to advance to the next round due to the deficit in points and the necessity of earning a victory to confirm his berth.

After his dominant victory at Indianapolis, Michael McDowell had shown signs of a resurgence in the regular season. Moreover, the driver was able to finish sixth in Bristol, but that was not enough for McDowell to enter the next stage of the playoffs. 

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On account of this, former Cup Series driver Kenny Wallace seized the opportunity to take a gibe at NASCAR’s points system and ridicule it. In the episode of the Kenny Wallace show, the veteran expressed, “Right there fifth, Ty Gibbs, and look at the other one, sixth Michael McDowell. Any other time of the year that would be breaking news.” 

“Great finishes but we don’t care, I mean we care, basically it’s all about, the points right now. So those two drivers Ty Gibbs, and Michael McDowell they run great but it’s kinda like okay, what’s the points look like, who got spit out?”

Michael McDowell spills the beans on his performance at Bristol

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Comparatively, a new team in the Cup Series arena, Front Row Motorsports nonetheless, was able to show early promises. The cherry on the top came from the victory at Indianapolis, where McDowell was able to fend off Chase Elliott and Daniel Suarez.

However, McDowell failed to translate the performance in the playoffs and was eventually eliminated. In his post-race interview, the driver expressed, “Tonight, it wasn’t enough. We were in a must-win situation. Still proud of everyone at Front Row Motorsports. Not quite fast enough to run with the top two or three guys, but pretty good.”

“Those first two races just killed us, put us so far behind. This is a learning experience. It’s a young group. We didn’t do what we wanted to do here in these Playoffs. I think we showed speed, showed that we could do it.”

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With that being said, NASCAR is set to host its second round of the playoffs, beginning at Texas Motor Speedway. It is to be seen who is the next set of drivers that turns out to be out of luck and who qualifies for the third round.