NASCAR 'seriously weighing the possibility' of SEISMIC Cup Series change

NASCAR is seriously considering a massive change to its Cup Series postseason format, which could mean the death of the hated playoffs.

The top brass in Charlotte are now weighing up multiple options to ‘improve’ the shape of the championship season in response to severe criticism from the sport’s fanbase.

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Currently the title is decided via a four-stage system which sees three rounds of three races each, followed by one championship race with four drivers battling for glory.

With criticism of that system only continuing to grow, as TV ratings continuing to slump, the howls for change have become deafening in recent months.

Initially the favorite option had appeared to be moving to a 3-3-4 playoff format, with the final round being decided over four races instead of just one.

But now, according to multiple reports, doing away with playoffs entirely is also on the table, returning the sport to the days of a 36-race championship season.

A 36-race NASCAR championship is now a possibility

Per NASCAR insider Jeff Gluck, who is a member of the sport’s playoff committee, support for that seismic shift has grown significantly in recent months. To the extent that it appears to be a very real possibility.

Writing for The Athletic, Gluck revealed: “NASCAR is now seriously weighing the possibility of drastically overhauling the playoffs or doing away with them altogether. A modified playoff system, in which the most criticized elements of the current format are tweaked, may still win out.

“Yet the mere chance of going back to a 36-race schedule determining the series champion - a scenario which seemed borderline impossible seven months ago - marks a dizzying turnaround that speaks to a crossroads for stock car racing.”

Gluck believes there are a number of reasons for that ‘dizzying turnaround’ - including the brutal truth that the current format just has not worked/is not working. Last weekend’s race at New Hampshire delivered just 1.29m TV viewers - around 30% down on last year and around 80% lower than 20 years ago.

Another argument is that other motorsport series - notably F1 - do not have playoffs and rely solely on the regular season to decide a championship. And of course F1 has grown significantly in recent years.

NASCAR’s decision to implement playoffs came partly from a desire to provide ‘Game 7 moments’. But as Gluck quite rightly points out, not every series goes to Game 7.

When will NASCAR decide on new format?

Gluck’s latest update comes on the back of a very recent playoff committee meeting, at which increased support for a 36-race season was clear.

Now the deliberations and takeaways from that meeting have been passed to the NASCAR brass - and it is they who will make a final call, not the drivers, not the teams, not TV.

One thing that is clear, we will not get that final announcement until after this season’s championship race - which takes place at Phoenix on Sunday November 2.

Decision makers are keen not to devalue this year's championship race by revealing any changes before the new king of the sport is crowned.

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