Joey Logano’s third Cup Series championship in 2024 finally moved the hearts of the NASCAR suits to question the current playoff format. They promised that changes would come, albeit no solid timeline has been given yet. At this juncture, Mark Martin conducted a fan poll through his X handle to help the promotion understand fan sentiment.
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He asked the community what points system NASCAR must use going forward. The options he provided were the current format, the 10-race Chase, the classic 36-race season, or a completely new system. 59.7% of the 21,411 votes cast opted to move back to the classic 36-race season that was the norm until 2003. 23.4% of them wanted to return to the Chase format.
This reveals a lot. Matt Kenseth won the Cup Series championship in 2003 despite winning just a single race throughout the season. Other drivers who had won more races failed to lift the trophy. This was because of his consistent performance all year. But NASCAR found something gravely wrong with this approach and introduced the Chase format.
Two decades later, it is rather interesting to see so many fans wanting to go back to how things were. One fan said below Martin’s poll, “I like how it used to be. NASCAR was never the same after 2003.”
Another wrote, “Full season all day, make the championship mean something again, and the best driver no question wins and deserves the trophy.”
Full season all day, make the championship mean somthing again and the best driver no question wins and deserves the trophy. Back in 2003 the majority still wanted a full season points system, the only thing they wanted different was more points to the winner.
— Lucas TA (@LucasTA62) May 24, 2025
This fan also believed that the majority of the crowd back in 2003 never wanted the existing system to go away. They just wanted more points to be awarded to the race winner. It is quite possible that NASCAR jumped the gun by introducing a totally fresh concept when a minor change was all that was required to satisfy the fandom.
A 36-race points season would eliminate the possibility of a fluke champion. Consistency all year long would matter more. A separate comment on Martin‘s poll said, “I don’t see any driver running away in a 36-race total points season.” Another fan sharply declared, “Full season scoring system.” The question is what the promotion thinks of all this.
The decision to introduce the Chase in 2004 was multi-faceted. Changing times and changing demographics demand fresh solutions to keep the sport relevant. A 36-race total points season might crown the most deserving driver. But it could make the season-watching experience a lot less interesting than it is now.
