During a recent episode of the Door Bumper Clear podcast, NASCAR spotters Brett Griffin and Freddie Kraft shared their takes on the one aspect of the sport which they argued was something fans don’t really pay attention to. Both the insiders were of the opinion that it not only needs to be taken seriously as it has big effects on the overall picture, but it’s one which the media too don’t pay much attention to.
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That aspect is the regular season championship, which both Kraft and Griffin claimed is just as important as anything in the season considering how much it affects the picture heading into the playoffs.
NASCAR Insiders on the worrying perception of the regular season championship
Brett Griffin began the discussion by mentioning the poll he sent out in which some 6,000 fans voted about whether they care about the regular season championship. Griffin’s pole ended with an overwhelming majority of 62% of fans voting that they do not care about the subject.
This led to Freddie Kraft reacting as he said, “I think that’s … I don’t want to call out … that’s just not being informed enough about how important that regular season championship is. Because it’s a big deal,” to which Griffin wondered, “Do they not care because their favorite driver isn’t in the mix?”
“Probably,” Kraft replied, and continued, “I truly think they don’t care. I think they just think it’s an afterthought when really it’s not. I don’t think enough emphasis is placed on it from a media standpoint. That’s a big deal. That’s a 5-point difference from first to second. That’s a big deal. That’s five positions on the racetrack when it comes to a race in the playoffs.”
Griffin also added, “We spend time on here talking about it because we know how important it is. We know that Martin Truex or William Byron at this point, one of them is gonna get 5 more playoff points. That is massive. If our fans truly don’t care about it, we’re doing something wrong as a sport because this thing is super important.”
“I mean, it’s not a home-field advantage like in the NFL playoffs, but it’s pretty damn close.”
Kyle Larson has his eyes on the regular season championship
While the favorites at this point of the season to win the regular season are clearly William Byron or Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Larson, who, after Pocono ranked in 7th place, also extended his aim to win the regular season championship. Ahead of the race at Pocono, Larson claimed that regardless of the fact that he is where he is, winning the regular season championship isn’t out of reach.
“If we go on a year or the next sample races you know, even a regular-season championship isn’t out of the question. But with each position, we gain a regular season point, and another playoff point for the playoffs,” Larson said.
He added that going forward, he would just like to get some clean races, something they’ve been doing a good job of in the last month.
