Why Mamba Smith’s NASCAR playoff take is sparking so much backlash

NASCAR Cup Series announcer Mamba Smith's recent comments on the playoff format hit a nerve with fans, drivers and teams. Many shared their sharp criticism online and detailed how his views challenged longstanding values of driver merit.

When Smith suggested the championship rewards team execution under pressure, fans read it as devaluing the driver's role. Many fans feel the heart of NASCAR lies in driver skill and consistency.

"The point isn't to crown the best driver… It's to crown the best team who executed the best when the pressure was at its highest and the lights were the brightest," Mamba Smith wrote on X.

Mamba Smith

@MambaSmith34

The point isn’t to crown the best driver… It’s to crown the best team who executed the best when the pressure was at its highest and the lights were the brightest.

NASCAR fans have always supported and cared about the drivers and not any particular team. They stay loyal even when drivers switch teams.

The current playoff for the Drivers' championship in NASCAR, which has been in place since 2014, features multiple elimination rounds and a one-race championship finale. Winning can matter more than consistent performance and that means someone could win fewer races yet claim the title. Many fans argue this misses the point of rewarding the season's best driver or team. They support the full-season points system, which was used until 2013, over the current playoff layout. However, NASCAR does not let team owners vote on rule changes, as the sport's leadership holds most of the power.

Before the playoff era, NASCAR crowned its champion by total points over the full season. The sanctioning body introduced the Chase in 2004, which has now evolved into the playoff system. Meanwhile, TV ratings and attendance have dramatically dropped since the sport’s peak in the mid-2000s.

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NASCAR fans roast Mamba Smith's take on the Drivers' championship format

Mamba Smith sparked outrage with his controversial view on the championship format and the 33-year-old analyst for NASCAR.com and NASCAR on Fox was heavily roasted for it. Denny Hamlin, who has also publicly called for a change in the championship format, also took a dig and commented on Mamba's tweet.

"That's not the point of the Championship? Really. This is a real problem with NASCAR media. They think they can just redefine what things mean in this sport and many of them, like Kyle Petty, act like if we don’t accept it then we are the problem," a fan wrote.

"That paycheck they give you can’t possibly be THAT good man holy shit," another commented.

Smith, who also co-hosts Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour with Kaitlyn Vincie, worked as a mechanic in Rev Racing's Drive for Diversity program. He even worked for Stewart-Haas Racing during Harvick’s 2014 Cup championship run, earning support through the Haas Driver Development Program.