When NASCAR created the Chase and then morphed into the current “playoff” format, the focus was placed on winning. “Win and you’re in” along with “win and advance” became themes through the NASCAR seasons. The goal was to place an emphasis on winning races instead of chasing points.
The 2024 season was the first season to really challenge if the current format really works. Joey Logano won the Cup series title after initially being eliminated from the playoffs following the race at the Roval in Charlotte. Alex Bowman, who finished ahead of Logano in the points, was disqualified in post-race inspection. That moved Bowman behind Logano in the points and allowed Logano to advance to the round of 8. Logano went on to win the championship. Many felt he was an unworthy champion.
As the season wraps up this weekend in Phoenix, NASCAR has another potential issue on its hands. Not one, but two drivers face the possibility of having a dominant season and not walking away with a championship.
Cory Heim has dominated the NASCAR Truck Series with 11 wins this season out of 24 races. Connor Zilisch has won 10 races in the Xfinity series. Both drivers have been the presumptive favorites in their respective series for some time. But one mistake, one parts failure, one fluke situation could prevent either or both drivers from capping off strong seasons with a championship. It would be remarkable and shameful.
Proponents of the playoffs there were previous seasons where a driver dominated in wins but came up short in the championship. The most used example is the 1993 season where Rusty Wallace won 10 Cup races and Dale Earnhardt won the title. For arguments sake, that was in the 36-race schedule with no playoffs or Chase and Wallace had 5 DNFs that offset some of his wins. It was a feast or famine season for Wallace.
With more and more fans, along with former and current drivers, clamoring for the old 36-race format based on points, those voices will only get louder if either Heim or Zilisch fail to win their respective championships this weekend. NASCAR will have to perform a lot of crisis management to explain how a dominant driver fails to win a championship based on one race. For the sake of Cory Heim and Conor Zilisch, let’s hope both win the championship each deserve.
