In 2023, Denny Hamlin openly criticized Ryan Blaney’s championship win, arguing it was merely due to consistent performances in the season’s final six races, where Blaney secured two wins and two top-5 finishes. However, Joey Logano’s 2024 championship victory, marked by an average finish of 17.1 — the lowest for any Cup champion — sparked even more controversy among drivers, fans, and spectators alike.
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The backdrop set the stage for NASCAR Chief Operating Officer Steve O’Donnell’s recent proposal to implement an AI tool to refine the NASCAR format. He said that the idea is equipped with a hefty volume of data and hence might help with the changes.
Despite this technological advance, fans expressed their disappointment, feeling their insights and suggestions were overlooked by the sport’s authorities rather than seriously considered.
The statement by Donnell read, “Just around racing, the strategy that now goes into a race, how that applies to our formats of the future, I think Al can play a really big role in that.”
“When we created even the stages or playoff format, you did that with the best data you had and best minds you had, but now being able to plug in and work with Al in terms of, ‘OK, if you tweak the playoffs this way, what should we be watching out for.'”
Further continuing, he added, “Or ‘How could that affect the sport?’ There’s so much data and technology out there that you can now throw into a model, I think it’s going to be very helpful in looking at some predictive analysis of where the sport can go in the future and then there’s the whole business side of things too.”
.@NASCAR is evaluating how it can use generative AI for competition matters such as asking a model how playoff format changes could impact the sport, per COO Steve O'Donnell.
🗨: "How that applies to our formats of the future, I think AI can play a really big role in that." pic.twitter.com/wbNituf4tm
— Adam Stern (@A_S12) December 27, 2024
Fans reacted vehemently to the recent announcements, with one exasperatedly commenting, “This shit is beyond laughable at this point will you pansy asses please step down & let someone who actually understands racing run NASCAR.”
Another infuriated fan expressed, “Feel like that’s a real slap in the face of NASCAR fans drivers and teams.”
A third chose irony as their weapon, remarking, “Lmao. They’ll do anything but just listen to the fans.”
A few days ago, reporter Adam Stern shared remarks from NASCAR’s Steve O’Donnell regarding potential changes to the race format. O’Donnell noted that they are open to exploring different ideas and will certainly make adjustments if they can enhance the sport.
However, any changes will only be made if they align with the sport’s best interests and are likely to boost fan engagement.
One more fan added to the chorus of disapproval by pointing out the situation, “Flat out refusing to listen to fans but will listen to AI is extremely infuriating. Who’s the bot now?”
The surge of talks about bots and AI was triggered after a discussion regarding social media reactions, where Hamlin relayed a conversation with NASCAR communications official Mike Forde on his podcast episode in November. He stated,
“I talked to Mike Forde a little bit last night, NASCAR comms. I said, ‘Man, I mean, you got this format getting hammered on the net.’ and he’s like, ‘it’s it’s bots. It’s not real people.’ And so I said, okay, I mean, you can turn a blind eye if you want and you can be in denial. But numbers don’t lie.”
The core issue with the current NASCAR format, according to fans and insiders, is that it undervalues consistency throughout the regular season. The system allows a driver who may not have been consistent but manages to win a single race in the regular season to qualify for the playoffs.
For example, despite securing six wins during the season, Kyle Larson failed to make it to the final four due to inconsistencies in the closing races. Nevertheless, NASCAR officials have committed to reviewing the playoff format during the off-season to address these concerns.
