NASCAR insiders sound off on Shane van Gisbergen playoff criticism, debate potential format change

Shane van Gisbergen won his way into the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs at Mexico City. While he was enthusiastic about having a chance to compete for a title, some fans were vocal about how it was undeserved, due to his prior place in the overall point standings.

It’s a similar story to when Harrison Burton came from deep in the standings to make the playoffs due to a win at Daytona last summer. NASCAR insiders Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi tried to dissect the issue on the latest episode of The Teardown, wondering if the playoffs need to change, and whether or not SVG’s win underscored that narrative.

“I was a little bit surprised last week at the discourse after the SVG win. It was so vitriolic,” Gluck stated. “I thought the bigger story last week was, ‘Hey, a guy did what he’s supposed to do. A guy did what he was hired to do in this road-course-ringer-type era where, you know — you talk about the area of specialties, and under the system that everybody knows, it’s very simple. You have 26 races to win your way into the playoffs, period.

“… I guess the Harrison Burton thing still sticks with people. But again, I think that’s part of what, under this current format, makes the regular season interesting. Anytime, everybody knows the rules. 26 chance to win. This person figured out a way to win the race. They won, they’re in. I guess I’m more okay with that than other people may be.”

While Bianchi can understand why fans would want a smaller playoff field in general, the win-and-you’re-in format creates too many good moments for it to be considered bad, in his opinion. Even though SVG’s win might’ve been a bit controversial, he’s not willing to change how it all came about.

“I do like a smaller playoff field in general, because I want it to be hard to make the playoffs. That’s in every sport. Major League Baseball is adding playoff teams. It’s like, ‘No, I want less.’ … I want it to be hard to make the playoffs. I want very good teams to have to fight for their livelihood to make the playoffs. I don’t want it to be — I don’t want to say it’s easy, but it’s a little easier because there’s 16,” Bianchi added. “That said, and we often fall back on the Harrison Burton example, right? This guy who is 30-something points wins at Daytona. I don’t like the idea of eliminating the win-and-you’re-in.

“It’s not because of the Burton thing. I understand why that sticks with people. To me, let’s fast forward a week after Daytona, what happened at Darlington? Chase Briscoe goes to Darlington, one of the toughest, demanding tracks on the circuit, the Southern 500, and with a team that’s closing down and people are looking for jobs and already mailed it in largely, goes there and wins the freaking race. Like, that dude deserved to be in the playoffs. I don’t want to take that away. I like the win-and-you’re-in because of moments like that.

“I get the super speedway thing can kind of take the oxygen out of the room. Sometimes, we focus on that. But those moments where a driver goes to Darlington and pulls it off, it’s like, ‘No, man, that’s what it’s about.’ I don’t want to lose that, because that that adds a specialness to it. That guy had to go and win with his back against the wall in the last regular season race at Darlington, of all places, and he did it. Hell yeah, put him in the playoffs. He deserves it. I don’t want to lose that.”

Regardless, Shane van Gisbergen’s win at Mexico City was impressive, and he might not be done. With a myriad of road courses coming up, he could have two or three wins by the time the playoffs start. That would certainly make this a moot point, as he continues to establish himself in the NASCAR Cup Series.