Winning a Cup Series championship today is a matter of luck as much as it is of skill and speed. The playoff format rewards even those who haven’t been as good as their counterparts all season and provides them a shot at the title. Harrison Burton’s qualification is the most recent example. Many drivers want this scenario to change and Kyle Larson is the latest of them.
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The Hendrick Motorsports driver was asked about the current playoff system during a press conference in Darlington. The question brought up the 2021 season Phoenix finale in which a late caution helped him win the race and the championship. Had it not been for that caution, Larson might not have won the race and be crowned champion despite winning nine races previously.
He responded, “I mean, it’s the system, so it doesn’t really matter. I think it makes for storylines and whatnot … I think I would be in favor of a three-race little stretch to decide the champion, rather than just one at Phoenix. Don’t know that we’ll ever see that, but yeah for right now, it is what it is. You have to be good everywhere, especially at Phoenix.”
Larson made the Championship 4 last year and failed to capitalize on the opportunity to secure a second title. He fell prey to Ryan Blaney’s wrath in Phoenix despite being one of the more dominant drivers in the season. Close-cut experiences like these would be tough to accept for any driver. The likes of Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick are no exception.
Hamlin and Harvick suggest a multiple-race championship round
One race deciding who the champion is leaves a lot to be uncomfortable about. Hamlin, for one, doesn’t like the fact that luck plays a factor in racing. Earlier this year he suggested a three-race championship round, “Why don’t we have a championship round? Challenge these drivers at multiple different racetracks. I mean, I don’t care if you put a road course in the championship round. At least, your crowning achievement champion off a larger sample size.”
Retired icon Harvick echoed these words in a recent episode of the Harvick Happy Hour podcast. He said, in light of Burton’s win in Daytona, “I still believe that it shouldn’t come down to one race. Still believe that there should be two or three races that determine the championship.”
Will NASCAR listen to these takes and be down to change the system? It has done so on numerous occasions previously and will most certainly do so in the future as well. It could just be a question of when.
