Not so long ago, NASCAR racing was all about patience during the entire season and consistency. Ever since its humble beginnings in 1948, performing in every race mattered greatly for the racers. Then, everything changed forever in the year 2003. The old system of getting the most points to win the Cup Series came to an end. The new system, which was known as the Chase for the NASCAR Nextel Cup, came into being. It came with significant changes in the way NASCAR determined the winner of its most coveted prize.

The 2003 system was a 10-race playoff which involved the top 10 racers. The system later on expanded to accumulate 12 racers based on points accumulated during the regular season. Although it brought excitement and a sense of urgency to the Cup Series, it had some seriously missing elements. Like, the way drivers were qualified for the playoffs made most of the season on the lines of the pre-2003 format. Therefore, it felt like an old ice cream with new packaging. The reforms were finally acknowledged in the year 2014, which gave us the elimination system as we know it today.

While the present system has its critics and enthusiasts, a criticism of the present playoff system from one of the greatest racers of all time has made it a talking point in the racing community.

The King critiques the present playoff system

The stage is all set for the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, with the inaugural race concluding at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. In an absolute thriller of a race, the contest was neck to neck between Daniel Suarez of Trackhouse Racing and Joey Logano of Team Penske. In the end, Logano did what he does best- turning the race on its head in his favor. The No. 22 gained some valuable points for the battle to secure a spot in the top-12 this season.

After fans experienced a thrilling race, strong criticism came in from Richard Petty. The driver of the iconic No. 43 pointed out a major flaw in the present playoff format, seriously questioning its un-biasness. The now 87-year-old NASCAR legend said, “I don’t know that the championship should be one race. I think the championship should be two or three races again and 3 different kinds of race tracks involved. The way it is we are going to go to Phoenix, I guess. And if you just happen to like that track or something, then you got the chance to win the championship. But if you’re a road racer. Then you’re not gonna do too good on that.”

Richard Petty is not the first NASCAR legend to express his discontent over the present playoff system. Other former NASCAR racers have also been vocal about their disapproval of how NASCAR determines the winner of the Cup Series. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is one such former NASCAR racer who has been critical of the elimination format in the past. The NASCAR Hall of Famer had earlier said, “The reason why I struggle with that is because the venue may suit a team or a driver. You wouldn’t ever consider running it at a road course or a superspeedway because that certainly suits some drivers more than other. You try to have it at a neutral facility, if you will, like a Homestead or a Phoenix.”

Another NASCAR legend vocally critical of the present playoff system is Kevin Harvick. The former Stewart Hass Racing driver was critical of the present system after Harrison Burton secured a playoff spot by winning the Coke Zero Sugar 400 despite being 34th in the points tally. After the race, Harvick had this to say, “Well, I just wonder what the balance is between. Do we want our best 16 cars? Or do we want it to be exciting? This is exciting. And I agree with everything that’s going on and this is not anything against Harrison Burton. This is not anything against Daniel Suárez, but are those our best 16 cars that we’re going to have racing for the championship?”

While most of the critics of the current system have been vocal about the problem, only a few have been interested in devising a feasible alternative to the way NASCAR determines its championship winner.

Richard Petty’s alternative to present playoff system

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Richard Petty himself provided one solution. The King proposed that NASCAR should have multiple races on different tracks. Through this system, according to Petty, the bias factor of a single track towards particular racers can be removed. While the idea has some merit. The most prominent one is that the races in Petty’s proposed idea would take place on different types of tracks. The races would involve all the racetracks, be it superspeedways, short tracks, and road courses. This would test the versatility and overall skill of the drivers.

However, another alternative to the current playoff system popular amongst fans and racing enthusiasts is the idea of a segmented season. It entails that the entire Cup Series races shall be divided into segments. Each segment consists of a set number of races. So, with the Cup Series, a 36-race season could be divided into four segments of nine races each. Drivers would compete for points within each segment. The winners of each segment would qualify for the final championship series. This ensures that consistent performance throughout the season is acknowledged and rewarded in determining the overall Cup Series Champion.

What are your thoughts on the recent comments from Richard Petty on NASCAR’s playoff system? Do tell us in the comments down below.