Since day one, there has been a debate about the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. Indeed, fans and gamblers don’t mean the 2024 playoffs, the 2024 season, or even the introduction of the modern format in 2014. They mean day one of the playoff era in 2004.
Since Cup Series championships started being decided by a postseason format rather than a season-long championship format the Auto racing betting odds debate rages. Fans have complained that titles are no longer “legitimate.”
Consider that in 21 seasons of playoffs; there have only been eight occasions on which the drivers crowned champion was the same as the drivers who scored the most points. Also, in 11 seasons of the current format, there have only been three, and it has yet to happen since 2021.
Of course, online wagering championships are earned, not deserved. There is no such thing as an “undeserving” or “illegitimate” champion, as everybody plays by the same rules. In a similar way to the stick and ball spots, there is nothing that requires the team with the best regular season record to win it all.
Joey Logano Review
Namely, Joey Logano may have had the worst average finish among all NASCAR Cup Series champions. And he may have only gotten to the round of 8 because of another driver’s disqualification. Also, he may have only gotten into the playoffs because of a five-overtime win. A win where he held off the driver who was, at the time, in last place among the 34 full-time drivers in the point standings.
Previously, they have gotten away with the format. For example, drivers who would have finished in second or third in points-winning championships aren’t viewed as that big of a negative. Correlate that the “best of the best” still rose to the occasion when it mattered most. Jimmie Johnson didn’t win five titles in a row by accident, even if only two of them were unofficial “points titles.”
But the 2024 championship battle unfolded in what was an egregious manner when it came to actually determining a champion. It wasn’t as egregious as some of the potential scenarios we outlined before the playoffs started. However, in terms of Auto racing lines scenarios that are actually realistic, this one has to be up there.
Conclusion
Namely, Joey Logano finished the regular season standings behind three drivers who didn’t even make the playoffs. He would not have even gotten in if not for a five-overtime win. That was when he held off Zane Smith, the driver who, at the time, was 34th (last) place in the standings.
Consider the fact that the driver who finished last in points, Harrison Burton, made the playoffs due to a superspeedway win. Thus, arguing that Logano, the 15th-place driver, didn’t earn his spot in a 16-driver playoff format would be silly. But Logano was eliminated after the round of 12. The top eight drivers in total points advanced to the round of 8 – or so we thought. Yet Logano ended up advancing after all when Alex Bowman was disqualified.
And in the round of 8 opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, NASCAR’s 15th place driver punched his ticket to the Championship 4. In turn, making it six for six in even-numbered years. Following two weeks of meaningless playoff NASCAR racing for the driver of the No. 22 Ford. He won again at Phoenix Raceway to clinch his third title.