“That’s not good for sports”: Mamba Smith breaks down why he disagrees with Mark Martin’s take on the NASCAR championship format

On the latest episode of the Happy Hour podcast with Kevin Harvick, his co-host Mamba Smith disagreed with Mark Martin's verdict on the current playoff system. During the interaction, Smith acknowledged the reason behind not backing up Martin's approach and claimed it to be "not good for sports."

The retired NASCAR Cup Series driver spent over three decades in the series and evolved with the sport. But Martin compared the past playoff system to the 2025 format and criticized the current system. Following the 2024 season's end, fans slammed the system for failing to crown the well-deserving driver as champion, and Martin agreed with the fans.

Reflecting on Mark Martin's idea of bringing back the old playoff format, Kevin Harvick asked Mamba Smith if he favored the idea.

"No," Smith replied [41:17 onwards].

Harvick's co-host explained:

"Because I'll tell you why. William Byron, we just talked about a little bit ago, locked it up. He locked it up in the traditional style of race early. If he kept going, if we kept going, how many races would he have the championship locked up by? We don't know cuz we're not going to do it. But Alex Palo just won the IndyCar Championship with two races, two races to go. That's not good for sports."

The Coke Zero Sugar 400 is the last race before NASCAR heads into the playoffs with the Round of 16. The 160-lap race is scheduled for Saturday, August 23, 2025, at Daytona International Speedway. NBC Sports, HBO Max, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Ch. 90, and MRN will air the 400-mile event live at 7:30 p.m. ET.

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Former NASCAR driver Mark Martin opened up about the flaws in the current playoff format

NASCAR veteran Mark Martin was recently featured in an interview with Shannon Spake on her Spake Up podcast on YouTube. Following his straightforward nature, Martin shared his opinions on the flaws in the current playoff format.

During the interaction, Martin criticized the qualification scenario for the current playoff system. The former NASCAR Cup Series driver then shared his take on it.

"Somehow, making winning more important than ever has taken away from the importance of winning. But it’s just, ‘He won, he’s in.’ That’s all you talk about… Winning a race is huge. It’s the biggest deal. And you lose that. That’s not what you talk about all week. You talk about now he’s in the playoffs," he said [02:55].

Mark Martin has secured 40 wins, 271 top-five, and 453 top-10 finishes, followed by 56 pole positions during his 31-year stint in the Cup Series. Martin also competed in the Xfinity Series for 23 years and completed 236 starts, securing 49 wins, 152 top-10 finishes, and 30 pole positions. Additionally, he secured seven wins, 20 top-10 finishes, and three pole positions in 25 starts in the Truck Series.