When NASCAR first convened a committee in February to gather feedback on the future of its championship format, only one person advocated for eliminating NASCAR’s playoff system altogether.
But in the most recent meeting last week, numerous influential committee members spoke on behalf of scrapping the playoffs and returning to the full-season points format NASCAR used until 2003, which crowned a champion simply by total points accrued over the entire schedule of races.
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NASCAR is now seriously weighing the possibility of drastically overhauling the playoffs or doing away with them altogether. A modified playoff system, in which the most criticized elements of the current format are tweaked, may still win out. Yet the mere chance of going back to a 36-race schedule determining the series champion — a scenario which seemed borderline impossible seven months ago — marks a dizzying turnaround that speaks to a crossroads for stock car racing.
If NASCAR did opt for a return to the way its champion was decided for most of its history, the choice would be driven by a variety of reasons.
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See earlier updates here and here.
AND: Now that the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Committee has met for the last time, the final decision on a new championship format will head to the executive level.
“The next step is NASCAR is going to get its leadership in position and really have a discussion and lock ourselves in a room and figure it out from there,” NASCAR managing director of communications Mike Forde said on the latest episode of the “Hauler Talk” podcast. “Take all the feedback from the committee and come up with the best decision for the entire sport and our fans moving forward.”
Forde said there will be no further news on the future of the playoffs until after the 2025 champion is crowned in the Nov. 2 season finale at Phoenix Raceway.
During the Sept. 17 meeting of the Playoff Committee, Forde said there was support from several members for reverting to a full-season champion (which was how NASCAR determined the title until 2004), but others lobbied for keeping some form of the playoffs. Forde noted a track president said fan interest spiked in playoff races, making it easier to sell tickets.
There also was debate about the clarity of playoff points and possibly replacing them with more points for a win.
Forde said a four-race championship round also was considered.
— NASCAR.com —