Richard Petty Questions the Fairness of NASCAR’s Playoffs Following Shane van Gisbergen’s Mexico Victory

We all knew this was coming. Shane van Gisbergen won in Mexico City on Sunday and stirred up a hornet’s nest. The New Zealander’s performance throughout this season has been largely underwhelming, as evident from where he sits on the points table. But he has secured a playoff spot by winning at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.

Several drivers, insiders, and fans have weighed in on the questionable system of granting a playoff spot for a single win, giving their takes on Van Gisbergen’s postseason eligibility. Richard Petty’s strong voice has delivered his personal and rather strong stand on the matter.

Answering a fan question on his social media handle, the legend said, “The way they got this thing fixed, you win and you’re in — that can’t be right.” After the win in Mexico, SVG climbed three spots and is placed P30 in the standings. Petty highlighted this while reiterating the logic in his take.

“From the standpoint that you got somebody 30th in points, that’s going to make the playoffs. What happened to the guy that’s 15th or 16th or 18th?” Asked the NASCAR legend.

Petty doesn’t think it’s fair to overlook the drivers who are ahead of Van Gisbergen in the standings just because they haven’t reached Victory Lane. But the most surprising words came after this. “You’re making a championship situation by winning a road course, which is not really NASCAR to begin with,” added Petty.

NASCAR is far from what it was even two decades ago. Road courses have become an inevitable part of the show and are now considered as important as superspeedways and intermediates. These track types may not reflect NASCAR’s traditional roots, but they’re a crucial piece of the puzzle today.

Van Gisbergen was brought into the NASCAR Cup Series for a reason. Trackhouse Racing’s owner, Justin Marks, always knew that the Supercars champion wasn’t going to be able to beat the likes of Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson on NASCAR’s traditional ovals.

But SVG is a different beast on road courses. So, why wouldn’t he want to take advantage of that?

Hamlin expresses a strong understanding of the SVG situation

Hamlin explained SVG’s victory and playoff entry on Actions Detrimental.

“That’s what he was built to do — is come over here and win some road course races and then be somewhat competitive as he could on the ovals. And so you got to go through 31 or 32 races of pain to get to the five or six that you really got a shot at it,” he said.

The playoff system might need some tweaking. But Van Gisbergen has earned his right to be in the playoffs fair and square.

Judging by his performances so far, it can be inferred that he may not last long in the playoffs. Drivers who missed out on a postseason berth despite consistent results can perhaps take some consolation in that.