NASCAR President Steve Phelps fiercely defends playoff format, evaluates reasons for fan criticism

Following Joey Logano’s third NASCAR Cup Series championship, fans were not too happy about the playoff format. A new round of familiar but renewed criticism emerged in the aftermath.

NASCAR President Steve Phelps doesn’t believe the playoff format is broken. Recently he addressed fan concerns around the postseason in the Cup Series.

Speaking to Jordan Bianchi The Athletic, Phelps addressed the NASCAR playoff format as well as its critics. Once again, he defended the system.

“There are a number of factors there. I think you have drivers that really performed well in the playoffs, and you had drivers that didn’t and may have performed better in the regular season,” said Phelps. “But in that Round of 8, specifically, you have drivers that didn’t perform, and you had four drivers who did – three of them won races and one that pointed their way through.

“I would suggest based on the format, those four drivers truly deserve to be there. Win-and-you’re-in is really what we heard from fans, and that’s what the industry came up with when they came up with this format. And if you’re going to get four guys who are not the four highest statistical leaders, then you’re probably going to have some criticism.”

Phelps directly defended Joey Logano in his comments as well.

“Joey [Logano] performed,” Phelps continued. “He went to Vegas and won and then went to Phoenix and won. So to me, he’s a deserving champion. He ran the gauntlet of a very difficult, and arguably the most difficult playoffs in all sports. And he is a deserving champion because of that.”

While there could be changes and tweaks to the playoffs in the next year or two, they are here to stay. Steve Phelps isn’t going to stop defending them, either.

Is Steve Phelps right about NASCAR playoff format?

When we get these comments from NASCAR executives, it rarely reveals anything new. We aren’t going to hear Steve Phelps trash the playoff system. It isn’t good for business and not what a president does.

His take on the playoffs is expected. But Phelps and those at NASCAR know that, after this season’s response, the playoffs have to change. Does that mean more points for wins and stage wins? Maybe. Does that mean eventually having a multi-race championship round? Perhaps.

Any changes in 2025 to the playoffs will be moderate, if not negligible. The schedule is already set, there are tickets being sold, we aren’t getting a different format. But perhaps there is a way to give a driver like Kyle Larson, who dominates in wins and stage points, to get more of an advantage in the postseason.

The NASCAR playoff format is going to largely remain the same. Regardless of the flood of criticism this year, don’t expect any major changes in the near future.