The heated arguments surrounding the NASCAR playoffs have raged on for months, and the debate was renewed once more following the conclusion of Sunday’s (Oct. 5) NASCAR Cup Series race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL.
There were two major storylines after the race, and the first was Shane van Gisbergen’s climb in the record books with his fifth consecutive road course win in dominant fashion. That, however, got largely overshadowed by the razor-thin margin between Ross Chastain and Joey Logano in the fight for the final playoff spot in the Round of 8, which ended with Chastain’s “Fail Melon” on Denny Hamlin for 18th place in an unsuccessful attempt to advance.
When asked about the battle with Chastain and what he saw between Chastain and Hamlin on the final lap, Logano went on to praise the playoff format for the suspense it brings to NASCAR racing.
“The playoffs create drama,” Logano said. “It creates storylines. It creates awesome moments like that. I don’t understand what people don’t like about that. I really don’t get it. …
“It was real drama. If you don’t have cutoff races and things like that, what are you talking about today? (About) how Shane waxed everyone’s butt? That’s what you want? I’m just saying, I think this playoff format is wicked.”
Brad Keselowski, on the other hand, took the opposing view on social media after the race, saying that the mid-pack shenanigans generated by the playoff format served as an unnecessary distraction from the winners and the stars of the race.
The playoffs have been a ratings struggle for NASCAR, with all six races off network TV and hovering north of a measly 1 million views. The ROVAL was moved from NBC in 2024 to USA Network in 2025, and it dropped to 1.54 million viewers this time around.
There’s a clear split between drivers, fans and the NASCAR industry regarding the playoffs, and the concerns are only amplified as the ratings continue to fall.
Is Logano correct in that the playoffs provide the suspenseful moments that a full-season points format would lack? Or is Keselowski correct in that the playoffs and manufactured drama steal the spotlight from the drivers that deserve it the most? -Stephen Stumpf
Without the Playoffs, We Don’t Have Some of the Most Memorable Moments in NASCAR
The debate in 2025 and throughout the course of previous seasons have been centered around NASCARâs playoff format. When the checkered flag fell at the finish of the Round of 12 cutoff race, the main focal point wasnât about another masterclass performance van Gisbergen, but rather his Trackhouse Racing teammate Chastainâs last-second Hail Mary to keep his championship hopes alive.
We all watched van Gisbergen run away from the competition once again on a road course, something weâve become accustomed to seeing. To many fans, the Charlotte ROVAL didnât have many talking points post-race as van Gisbergen ran away with the race win by a whopping 15 seconds ahead of runner-up Kyle Larson.
While some will remember the Charlotte ROVAL as another instance of van Gisbergen landing another knockout punch to the field, Chastainâs last-lap Hail Mary attempt made headlines that far overshadowed another dominant van Gisbergen road course performance. Chastain entered the ROVAL 13 points below the cut line to advance to the Round of 8 and was bleeding spots in the waning laps, while Logano, on fresh tires, couldnât make up positions despite the aid of fresh rubber. Needing just one position to advance, Chastain drove deep into the final chicane on the final lap, spinning playoff driver Hamlin in a failed move that eliminating the Trackhouse Racing driver from title contention with a 21st-place finish. After spinning out and crossing the finish line in reverse, Chastain ultimately missed out on advancement by four points.
Chastainâs ludicrous action, similar to his Hail Melon move at Martinsville in 2022 to make that yearâs Championship 4, wouldnât have happened if it werenât for the playoffs. Without this format, several iconic NASCAR moments most likely wouldnât have happened, the Hail Melon among them. The playoffs bring so much more excitement with four drivers being cut after three race rounds. Each title-eligible driver pushing the limits to win and have a guaranteed berth in later rounds of the postseason not only generates storylines to talk about in the days after, but more excitement throughout a grueling 36-race season.
Remember Jeff Gordon and Keselowskiâs brawl on pit road at Texas Motor Speedway in year one of the elimination format? What about Logano being wrecked by Matt Kenseth a year later at Martinsville Speedway? In Gordonâs case, he was likely headed for a win and a great chance that season to win his fifth championship. Instead, an aggressive move on a late restart by Keselowski left Gordon with a cut tire and a finish outside the top 20. The rest, they say, is history. This version of the playoffs electrifies the racing we see every weekend and has fans on the edge of their seats, not knowing whether or not their favorite driver will have a chance to race for the title.
If a full season points format still existed, there wouldâve been absolutely zero reason for Chastain to put his car against the wall at Martinsville to make up the points he needed to race for the title in â22. A similar scenario unfolded in Sundayâs race at the ROVAL, with the Trackhouse Racing driver doing whatever he needed to do to make up points to have a chance at the championship. We wouldnât have gotten that with a full-season points format, and all we could talk about was van Gisbergenâs win by 15 seconds.
Instead, we get to relive Chastainâs last-ditch effort to stay alive in the title fight over and over again. Even at Kansas Speedway the week prior, where it came down to Hamlin versus Bubba Wallace driving as hard as they could to win and advance, it allowed Chase Elliott to storm through and advance to the Round of 8 in a thrilling last lap which ultimately led to Wallaceâs playoff hopes ending as well.
Isnât this what fans come to expect in NASCAR? Drivers racing for the championship pushing themselves and their cars to the absolute limit to be crowned champion of the highest level of NASCAR racing? Without this current playoff format, I donât foresee the same type of excitement and drama like we saw at both Kansas and the Charlotte ROVAL. -Christopher Hansen
Brad Keselowski’s Words Ring True
Keselowskiâs X post regarding the on-going playoff discussion accurately addressed the folly that is the NASCAR championship playoff format.
With each successive week it gets sillier, and every cut off race more absurd. Sundayâs Bank of America ROVAL 400 at Charlotte was the latest entry into the book of why stick-and-ball brackets donât work for motorsports.
Bradâs comment regarding star-power is spot on. Van Gisbergen won his fifth consecutive road course race and went five-for-six on the left and right turns this season. No small feat, but even more impressive when you factor in that three of the five margins of victory were all in excess of 10 seconds. This is an era where every team has access to see what heâs doing and how each of his inputs is being executed, and to dominate the way he has is beyond impressive.
Instead, what are we harping on? Guys who couldnât crack the top 10 in points with a shot a championship all of a sudden. Every other sport has its star names that drive viewership and storylines. NASCAR had that in each decade up until about 2020, and it has seemingly fizzled. The playoff format is a bit to blame for that. If a driver can win a race and advance to the playoffs in the regular season, and likewise from round-to-round once the playoffs start, they absolutely will race differently and maybe wonât be in the discussion during certain races.
That simply feels wrong. As someone who grew up during the 1990s, hearing Benny Parsons say, âhere comes Earnhardt!â during a race was a given. During the 2000s, thereâd be a similar rise from the fans if Dale Earnhardt Jr. or Tony Stewart advanced to the lead. The most popular driver in the sport right now is Elliott, and thereâs races where you have to check to make sure he didnât fall out of the race when they haven’t talked about him.
None of this is defensible. Even if you suspend disbelief and force yourself to see it as just âentertainmentâ and fun, it’s watching guys wreck for 15th and seeing a pair of Chevrolets feigning tire management on the final lap to not pass a fellow Camaro so as to not propel a competing Ford into the next round. Do you know how I know itâs not entertaining? The stands looked like a Truck Series race on a Friday night, and ratings were down 35% year-over-year: 2.4 million viewers in 2024 vs. 1.54M viewers in 2025.
Sure, that was network TV versus USA, and thereâs no streaming option. But please. If it was so entertaining and was going to do battle with the football game on the other side of town, it would have been on a more accessible option. By all accounts, weâve reached a precipice with the playoffs. When Mark Martin was making the rounds back in July being the sole voice advocating for a full-season championship, he graced us with his presence on Frontstretch’s Happy Hour Podcast, and we hashed it out for an hour as to why this hasnât been working and why a traditional motorsports season-long title would be preferable.
With each successive week, the case for it is being strengthened. So much so that when the committee NASCAR assembled to discuss this topic first broached it, Martin was the only voice in the room brave enough to call it out. Since then, with each race, a couple of more drivers are speaking up, and now itâs gaining momentum in the other direction toward abandoning this experiment. One need only hear who the advice is coming from:
Full-Season Championships: Richard Petty, Martin, Earnhardt and Keselowski
Playoffs: Affiliates of the Sanctioning Body
While I understand the appeal for sponsors who want the opportunity to see their brand featured on TV more frequently if they are to be mentioned in playoff discussions, whatâs the point if fewer people are watching or are on-hand in person to see it? If itâs frequently associated with something seen as unserious or illegitimate, then itâs a net negative for everyone involved. âVito Pugliese
Stephen Stumpf is the NASCAR Content Director for Frontstretch and is a three-year veteran of the site. His weekly column is âStat Sheet,â and he formerly wrote "4 Burning Questions" for three years. He also writes commentaries, contributes to podcasts, edits articles and is frequently at the track for on-site coverage.
Find Stephen on Twitter @stephen_stumpf
Vito is one of the longest-tenured writers at Frontstretch, joining the staff in 2007. Heâs a contributor to several other outlets, including Athlon Sports and Popular Speed in addition to making radio appearances. He forever has a soft-spot in his heart for old Mopars and presumably oil-soaked cardboard in his garage.
