Inconsistency and Injuries Have Exposed NASCAR’S Point System and Playoffs
In every sport, there are always things you can do to make the product and presentation better than what it currently is. One of the sports that I feel could do a lot better is NASCAR. Ever since 2004, NASCAR has a variation of the playoffs. Over time it has evolved into a Ten Week Playoff that starts with sixteen drivers. Prior to 2004, the NASCAR Cup Championship was determined by who had the most points at the end of the last race of the season. The season is now split up with twenty-six regular season races and ten playoff races with the four competitors racing for a championship during the final race of the year. The phrase, “win and you are in” has often be coined to promote that if you win and you’re in the playoffs. All three circuits in NASCAR are getting more competitive and I believe it’s time to change the points system and playoff format once again.
The focus of this hypothetical change is primarily what’s going in the NASCAR Cup Series this year. Kurt Busch has been out of multiple races with injury and as of now will have a spot in the playoffs due to winning one race. This has shown that the points system in NASCAR is flawed and doesn’t reward consistency of good finishes. If the playoffs were to begin today, Martin Truex and Aric Almirola would not be in the playoffs because they didn’t have a win. Truex is currently fourth in regular season points and Almirola is sixteenth. Another thing to consider is that Ryan Blaney is second in regular season points but is just above the cut line. No one with that much consistency should have to worry about whether or not they make the playoffs. On the other side of this scenario, Kurt Busch in is twenty first in regular season points While my heart goes out to Busch with what he’s dealing with, he should not get an exemption into the playoffs. If Aaron Judge goes down with an injury, MLB isn’t going to give the Yankees an exemption into the playoffs. If Steph Curry gets injured, the NBA isn’t going to give the Warriors an exemption into the playoffs. If Tom Brady is out half of a season and the Buccaneers don’t consistently win, the NFL isn’t going to give them an exemption into the playoffs. Kurt isn’t the first Busch to deal with injury in NASCAR. In 2015, Kyle Busch missed the first eleven races of the season and somehow ended up winning the Championship that year. When Kyle came back, he did win four races but otherwise he was terribly inconsistent. This was the first time that I legitimately questioned the way NASCAR was doing things.
NASCAR is a completely different sport where it doesn’t have a win-loss record, but consistently finishing in the Top 10 may as well be considered a win for most drivers. I would rather see a driver who consistently finishes in the Top Ten each week make the playoffs rather than a driver who has one win and finishes outside of the Top Ten consistently. I feel the same way about the playoffs. Right now, if a driver wins a race, they’re automatically in the next round. I believe the drivers who have the most points after each round should advance. If a driver wins one run race and then goes on to have two bad finishes or DNFs, that inconsistency should not be rewarded. In every other sport, teams have to consistently perform well to win in the regular season and the playoffs. As previously mentioned, NASCAR is not like every other sport. The question is, how do they fix the inconsistencies?
For starters, the points system would change completely and some of the old ways of earning points would come back. The races would be split in half and not into three stages anymore. At the halfway point the first-place car would get 10 points, second place would get nine points and so on with the tenth-place car getting one point. When the race is over, the first-place car gets 40 points and so on by position. If a driver leads a lap, they get one bonus point. The driver who leads the most laps will get five bonus points. This would continue until twenty-five races were complete. The Top Sixteen in points would move on the playoffs. This is where the second change would come in. Sixteen drivers would compete for five races. At the end of those five races, the Top Eight drivers with the most points earned would move on. The eight drivers remaining would race for another five races and the Top Four drivers with the most points earned would move on the final race for the NASCAR Cup Series Championship. These would be my hypothetical changes to reward consistency.
Whether or not NASCAR changes what they are currently doing remains to be seen. I think the win and you’re in mentality has run its course. Consistently performing well needs to be rewarded again and the emphasis needs to be put on performing well week in and week out. I want to see NASCAR get back to their roots and tweaking some of their current formats. Kyle Busch’s injury in 2015 and Kurt’s injury this year has really shown how flawed the current NASCAR points system and playoff format really is. I understand NASCAR owners put a lot of money into their teams, but so does every other sports owner in America. It’s time for NASCAR to evolve and change one again in order for it’s survival.
