“There never will be a perfect playoff format”: Dale Earnhardt Jr. foresees a major change in NASCAR’s championship deciding system

NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500 - Practice - Source: Getty
Dale Earnhardt Jr. - NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500 - Practice - Source: Getty

Dale Earnhardt Jr. suggested that a three-race title decider is probably on the cards for NASCAR's championship format. He believes that while there will never be a 'perfect playoff system', a larger 'sample size' is the right alternative to the current single-race winner-take-all scenario.

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Denny Hamlin had echoed the same sentiment a while back. The notion stems from the fact that the current system doesn't allow for a dominant narrative of the best drivers, and instead, a lot of it can become randomized as a surprise candidate can win it all.

Joey Logano's Cup title last year was contentious to say the least. He became the first driver to finish 15th in the regular season standings and make it to the championship race.

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On the recent episode of Dale Jr Download, Earnhardt shared his thoughts on the matter.

"I just feel like that change is coming. If I had to guess we're looking at probably a three or four race round to decide the title. No matter how it's won, it's won, but I think we can all agree that there's not a perfect system. There never will be a perfect playoff format, never. But we all do think that there needs to be a little bit bigger of a sample size of final races for that final round. And I think that's probably what we're going to get," he said.
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Despite his comments, Dale Earnhardt Jr. defended Logano's championship as well. He suggests that asking for a change in the playoff format doesn't take away from the three-time Cup champion's efforts.


Chase Briscoe teams up with Dale Earnhardt Jr. to discuss the playoff format

Chase Briscoe recently joined Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s podcast and weighed in on NASCAR's playoff format. He too called for a three-race title decider if we're to continue on the current path.

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"I think if you want to stay in the same kind of format of the playoffs, I would definitely not be against, like, a three-race final round. I think that would be a good option because, you know, a win doesn't really change anything for you, but you still have to be good over three races," Briscoe said. [20:13 onwards]
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The only other alternative is the classic points system but the idea seems far fetched at this point. A return to the pre-2014 Chase format also looks like a thing of the past. Notably, when the system was first introduced in 2004, the champion was crowned over the most points gained from the final ten races.

The move was made when Matt Kenseth ran away with the 2003 championship, as he'd won just a single race that year, but was consistent all-season long. The same season was Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s best shot at the title. He'd finished a career-high third in points and had won his record breaking fourth consecutive Talladega race. It was also the first time he'd won the most popular driver award.

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Edited by Pratham K Sharma
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