Every motorsport in the world has current or recent stars. NASCAR is the exception to that rule. Ask a random individual to name a NASCAR driver; most would say, Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon, Richard Petty, or Jimmie Johnson. This issue is directly correlated to the playoff system.

Championships make stars, and in the past, NASCAR had that. Richard Petty passed the torch to Dale Earnhardt. Earnhardt passed it to Jeff Gordon. Gordon then passed it to Jimmie Johnson. Since Johnson’s dominant performance, who has the torch passed to?

Look at any other racing series. Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton are household names. Alex Palou has become an Indycar legend. I’ve never watched a Motogp event, but I’ve heard of Valentino Rossi and Marc Márquez. As much as we don’t want to admit it, dominant performances are great for sports. NASCAR has made it nearly impossible for any one driver to rack up championships. 

I looked up what NASCAR would have looked like without a playoff system. Kevin Harvick would be a four-time champion, including three in six seasons. That’s the kind of performance that would have made a talented driver a household name. The last four championships would have been won by Kyle Larson with two, Chase Elliott, and William Byron. Could you imagine the popularity these young drivers would have received? The kicker is all these championship battles would have come down to the final race. Instead we got a champion that averaged an 18th-place finish for the season. A championship that is hard to defend. 

NASCAR has many up-and-coming drivers who are being robbed of an opportunity for greatness. Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, William Byron, Ryan Blaney, Tyler Reddick, and Christopher Bell all have the opportunity to bring NASCAR into the future. None of them can because of the championship’s randomness. 

Header Image Credit: Patrick Vallely