There have been five different winners in the 2025 Cup Series so far. This means five of the 16 spots for the upcoming playoffs are filled. This practice of a driver winning his way into the playoffs has garnered criticism from some grounds over recent years. Mark Martin is one of those critics. The iconic driver explained his position on a recent episode of Door, Bumper, Clear.
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Back when Martin was a regular in the Cup Series, drivers had to be good all year long to be declared the champion. But the points system of today provides a lot of space for luck and fortune. Spotlight on Joey Logano’s title win last season. Martin isn’t particularly comfortable with this.
He said, “For me, a champion is much more legitimate if he consistently runs well all year long.” He continued to detail that while winning a race should be celebrated a lot, it shouldn’t be a ticket to compete for the championship. “I know a lot of classic fans you know, feel the same way about that,” he said.
“Would it be as entertaining? I don’t know. I just think that the integrity of the sport is more important than entertainment. If you lose some viewers over that, then you lose some viewers.”
It is a big doubt if NASCAR would be comfortable with losing the new viewers after going through hell to grab their attention. But, as Martin pointed out, this could mean losing the traditional and core fanbase. The question is whether the promotion is willing to make that sacrifice.
He concluded, “The sport is catering to the non-race fan to click on TV and stay on there because we’ve got these gimmicks.”
How the playoff format has reduced the respect between drivers
The Xfinity Series race at Martinsville last Saturday highlighted one of the ill effects of the format. In a desperate need for a victory, drivers often adopt less-than-ideal racing methods to gain an advantage over their competitors. This leads to wrecks and late-race cautions at a high frequency. On Saturday, this happened between Sammy Smith and Taylor Gray.
The two drivers were battling for position in overtime when Smith lost it and slammed into Gray’s bumper intentionally. Gray spun into oncoming traffic and crashed against multiple cars.
It was largely similar to the move that Austin Dillon made against Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano at the Richmond Raceway last year in a last-ditch move to secure a playoff spot.
Smith did not win the race and any penalty given to him won’t carry much significance. However, the pressure that drivers are under to reach the playoffs at any cost is apparent now. There used to be a time when drivers respected each other on the track and raced clean. Martin was a key part of that time. Unfortunately, the sport is drifting far and far away from it.
