Sunday’s Round of 8 race in Martinsville narrowed the 2024 Cup Series field down to four drivers. Ryan Blaney and William Byron joined Joey Logano and Tyler Reddick as those qualified for the finale and will battle for the title at Phoenix on November 10. It is not an overstatement to say that the NASCAR community is not pleased with this selection of names.
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There has been a huge uproar among fans right from the day Logano qualified for the playoffs. He was nowhere near his best this season, and yet continually made it through the playoffs courtesy of some rightly timed victories and sheer luck.
The same blame can also be cast on some of the other drivers. The problem arises because their progress came at the cost of more deserving drivers like Kyle Larson.
This unequivocally displays the flaws of the current playoff format. To not have some of the most dominant drivers of the season compete for the championship is simply not in the spirit of competition. Following the fans and a critical tweet about the format from Brad Keselowski, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin spoke about this in detail on Actions Detrimental.
He said, “I can tell you this and it’s not their fault or his fault or anyone’s, but if Joey Logano wins this title there is going to be a wrath on social media about this format.”
He also revealed that he’d spoken to Logano about the feedback that fans were providing about the system on social media. However, the Team Penske driver had discarded them as posts from “bots.”
Hamlin backs Larson in a fight against the playoff format
Hamlin continued, backing Larson’s legitimacy to be a part of the Championship 4, “He’s won more races than anyone by a long way, and yet he is not part of the title fight.”
Adding, “Kevin Harvick won 10 races and didn’t get to race for a title. The format is broken and if you disagree, you’re in denial. It does not reward the four best for an entire season. It rewards the four best on any three-race Sunday.”
He also noted how NASCAR said when introducing the format that the purpose was to emphasize winning and Larson not being a part of the finale despite having the most dominant stats goes against those words.
Keselowski was equally critical on X. He’d responded to a post that cited how drivers with the same OEMs were teaming up to manipulate finishes and made his stance clear.
This should be the last straw on the camel’s back for the playoffs. https://t.co/j4Z5MSGkjo
— Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) November 3, 2024
He wrote, “This should be the last straw on the camel’s back for the playoffs.”
Big names like them voicing against the system should have a strong effect. But they have spoken about this multiple times before and seen no reaction from NASCAR. Perhaps Logano winning the title would create a tough corner that will leave the promotion with no choice but to move.
