NASCAR's Playoff Format Works Perfectly (Just Not For You)

NASCAR's current playoff format has been a target of ire among fans basically since its inception. These frustrations have only gotten more intense with how the 2025 Xfinity Series championship finished. The declarations of how the system is broken or doesn't work have never been louder. The problem with that way of thinking is that the system actually works perfectly. Or, rather, whether the system works depends on what exactly you're trying to accomplish.

The issues with the one-race championship format are obvious: racing is luck-based. You can be the best driver with the best car, but if you get caught up in a crash not of your making or have a freak mechanical failure, none of that will matter in the end. Boiling the entire season down to one race only exacerbates those issues. Even just having a car that isn't dialed in absolutely perfectly can derail your championship hopes, as Zilisch learned with the Xfinity championship. The current format doesn't reward the best driver over the course of a season. It just rewards anyone who is "good enough".

The thing is, NASCAR's goal isn't to reward the best driver. It's to generate excitement.

There's no argument that the playoffs create highlight moments. NASCAR's most well-known highlight, Ross Chastain's "Hail Melon", would not have ever happened without the playoffs in place. Every cutoff race has some kind of additional storyline that wouldn't otherwise exist in a normal points format. Even one of the most controversial moments in playoff history, with Matt Kenseth wrecking Joey Logano, is a highlight that makes the rounds constantly.

So, if your goal is to crown the most deserving champion, then yes, the system is undoubtedly broken. But, if your goal is to create excitement and interest in places where it wouldn't otherwise exist, then the system is actually working perfectly.

Regardless, NASCAR has apparently determined that the fan outcry is enough and the system needs to change. As much as people want it, we're never going back to a full-season points format. As I've just explained, the system does work for what NASCAR is trying to do, and we'll be stuck with some kind of playoff format as long as it keeps working. However, there are ways to make the system work a bit better for the fans as well.

One of the rumors floating around is a four-race championship round instead of the single-race round we have now. I've always thought a three-race round would have been a huge step forward to make it match the other playoff rounds, and making it four races helps remove the random element just a little bit more.

If I were in charge, I'd also remove the "win-and-in" clause as well. I understand why it exists; it increases excitement by making sure no driver is ever completely eliminated from playoff contention. However, no other sport in the world has anything like that, and it removes the emphasis on points pretty substantially. I'd like to see drivers rewarded for full-season consistency, not just one flashy race.

I'd also like to see track selection for the playoff rounds improved. Superspeedways have always been extremely luck-based, and I don't believe they have any business being in the playoffs. I also feel that each race in any round should be on a different style of track. A good champion should be good on every type of track that NASCAR goes to, so I don't think any round should give a driver an advantage by giving them the same style of track twice.

NASCAR is never going to fully abandon the playoff format, and the NASCAR fanbase is utterly unpleasable, so no playoff-style format is ever going to fully satisfy them. Regardless, it will be interesting to see if NASCAR does tweak the format and how any changes they make will affect the championship next season.