NASCAR opts against Playoff changes for 2025
01/28/2025 10:24 AM
In its annual preseason rules briefing held on Monday with the media, NASCAR confirmed no changes were made to the playoff format for the 2025 season.
There were questions as to the future of the elimination format after criticism was directed toward Joey Logano winning the Cup Series championship after being 15th in the regular season standings. Logano won one race in the regular season and three in the postseason. Meanwhile, Kyle Larson was considered the most dominant driver in the series with six wins but did not make it to the Championship 4.
Logano triumphed a year after Ryan Blaney won the championship after being 13th in the regular season championship standings. Blaney also won once during the regular season and then twice in the postseason.
John Probst, NASCAR's executive vice president and chief racing development officer, acknowledged hearing the fan feedback "loud and clear." The feedback included drivers who shouldn't be in the playoffs or who should automatically continue through. As NASCAR held conversations during the offseason, three categories of opinions were touched upon.
The first was satisfaction with the playoffs and the storylines they create. The second was the opposite, with a hate for the playoff format. The third was a middle ground: wanting to change the playoffs but not knowing what needed to change or what they wanted to fix.
"And then you look at the timing of the end of the season to go into the banquet right away; we have three new TV partners coming on board, and for something like that, typically, all of our stakeholders weigh in when we make changes of that magnitude," Probst said. "Could we have adjusted a little thing here or there? Maybe. But I don't think we want to get into the habit of making small little tweaks every season to the playoffs. Where we landed for 2025 was not making any changes to the playoffs."
However, discussion of the format will continue, with an eye toward the 2026 season. NASCAR will have a working group with media, manufacturers, Goodyear, drivers, and other stakeholders to consider the issue holistically.
The decision for 2025 was not made without consideration from the industry. During its Phoenix Raceway championship weekend, NASCAR admitted the playoff format would be a topic during the offseason. In the end, the emotions and suggestions that were offered in the heat of the moment fizzled into no solution.
"We just didn't get to a point where we felt like we had to (something)," Probst said. "But we hear the fans loud and clear and are looking at it actively."
