"We don't have any interest": IndyCar president shuts down push for NASCAR-style playoff format

IndyCar continues to follow the same championship format that it's been following for decades, where the driver with the most points at the end of the season is crowned as the champion. However, reports of a promoter encouraging a NASCAR-style playoff format came out recently. IndyCar President Doug Boles has now revealed that IndyCar has no interest in that playoff format.

NASCAR currently follows a playoff format where the drivers are awarded regular-season points and then playoff points in the first 26 races of the 36-race season. The last 10 races are playoff races where the Top 16 drivers qualify and the bottom four are eliminated every three races.

At the last races, only four drivers are left who will participate in the finale for the championship. The regular season champion is also crowned, and is different from the NASCAR champion from the playoffs.

NASCAR Cup Series Grant Park 165 - Source: Getty

It was recently reported that one of the promoters is open to introducing the NASCAR-style playoffs format to make the series more interesting and build up to the final race of the season. However, IndyCar has long been following the traditional concept where the driver with the most points wins the championship.

Doug Boles, the IMS and IndyCar President, suggested the American open-wheel racing series doesn't have plans to change to a NASCAR-style playoffs format.

“We pay attention to what others are doing. The one thing I know is that we don't have any interest in doing a playoffs-type situation like NASCAR has. That's not something that's on our bingo card,” Boles told Racer.

However, Doug Boles is open to the idea of introducing a challenge race amid the efforts put in by other series to increase the racing action and make the race weekends more interesting.

Doug Boles and IndyCar “open” to consider a challenge race

NASCAR has been running the playoffs format for over two decades. F1, on the other hand, recently introduced Sprint races to make the race weekends more interesting. IndyCar also ran the Marlboro challenge back in the late 80s and early 90s, where an exhibition all-stars race at the end of the season took place, with the winner being awarded a handsome sum of money.

Doug Boles also opened up about the possibility of introducing a challenge in IndyCar.

“We haven't really talked about that yet but I think we'd certainly be open to some sort of challenge," he told Racer.

However, the IndyCar President was quick to point out the questions faced before putting up a challenge race.

“The biggest question is how do you fund it? How do you make it make sense for the teams financially to participate in it? And then working with your TV partner, where does that fit from a TV standpoint? If we went that route, it wouldn't be limited to the 10 (drivers) like the invitational format had. I think that would be a full spectrum of all the competitors that participate,” he added.

The 2024 IndyCar season featured an exhibition race at the Thermal Club, which was known as the $1 Million Challenge.