The current NASCAR Cup playoff format is fine just the way it is, says Kyle Busch, who mastered the format by earning two championships (2015 and 2019).
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But the Richard Childress Racing driver has heard all kinds of rumors and reports that NASCAR officials are considering changing the current format after this season, potentially to coincide with the change and movement of the season finale next season from its current location at Phoenix Raceway to next year’s title-deciding race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
The most recent rumor that has been making its way through the Cup garage is changing the format to two rounds of three races each, followed by a championship-deciding four race sprint, so to speak. Busch isn’t exactly fond of that 3-3-4 format, but if it helps him get into the playoffs, he’d support it.
“I mean, I’ve haven’t been in the playoffs in a few years (not since 2023), so it’d be nice to get back to the playoffs and have a shot to race for something of that nature,” Busch said Friday during media availability at Bristol Motor Speedway. “But whatever it is, everybody knows what it is going in, and you’ve just got to figure out your best way through the system in order to bring you home a championship.”
While several of his peers have publicly said they’d like to see a change in the playoff format – or even potentially completely doing away with it and return to the format that existed prior to the playoff format, where the driver with the most points earns the championship – Busch said he’d be fine with whatever format NASCAR uses.
“It doesn’t matter what system it is,” Busch said. “Everybody wants to make such a big deal about what it is. If you if you know what it is going in, exploit it the way you need to exploit it for yourself to make a championship. There you go.”
Alex Bowman: Every Playoff Championship is legitimate
Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman has a similar take on the whole playoff argument, saying that a driver like Joey Logano – who has won the Cup championship three times within the current playoff format – is as legitimate a champion as someone would be if NASCAR reverted back to its former format of the driver with the most points achieved during the season is crowned the champ.
“I don’t think having the playoffs makes the championship any less legitimate than a full season format or a different format,” Bowman said. “I just think I would rather have the full season format.
“I’ve seen people that try to say that like Joey’s taking advantage of (the format), right? Because he struggled through the year last year, got one win and then kicked all our asses in the playoffs.
“That doesn’t make him an illegitimate champion. He has the system that we all have to work with, and he worked with it better than the rest of us. I don’t think that makes it illegitimate.”
No matter if NASCAR keeps its current playoff format, experiments with new variations, or reverts to a full-season points race, the core principle stays the same. Every driver faces the same rules. And the one who masters them rises as champion.
For seasoned drivers like Kyle Busch and Joey Logano, the legitimacy of a title isn’t tied to the format but to how well they execute within it. Formats may shift, but the pursuit of a championship will always demand resilience, adaptability, and the ability to deliver when the stakes are highest.
