The big topic of debate in NASCAR is the championship format again. Kevin Harvick wants to find a “happy medium”. Points format throughout the season? Playoffs? A Chase format of sorts? And how do you make things simple enough for fans to be interested?
If there’s a downside to the current NASCAR championship format, it’s its complexity. You really have to sit there and think about the rules and how points transfer, and what’s the difference between points and playoff points, and how eliminations work, and why does every round have three races except the final?
There are a lot of things in the NASCAR Playoffs that can be simplified. Kevin Harvick believes that a compromise can be found.
“I think there’s a happy medium. I think points should count more than they do now,” Harvick said during his speech. happy hour podcast. The retired Cup champion has spoken about the subject before.
“I even like the fact that if we want to get into the championship on regular season points, and you know, I don’t really mind if William Byron wins at that point, because I think in that top 26 you should be rewarded for having the best season. But I don’t know if getting to the end will be that exciting if William Byron wins by… 370 points or something like that. I think there’s a balance at the end with multiple leads crowning our champions on a few races.
Kevin Harvick wants regular season to count more
Is there a happy medium that NASCAR can achieve? This appears to be theoretically the case. However, with television partners who don’t seem to understand what fans want and historically stubborn leadership, change doesn’t seem feasible.
Kevin Harvick still wishes the points counted more. The regular season championship is supposed to be a prestigious award. However, it was almost an afterthought to the TV broadcast and NASCAR last week. Byron locked it in with a 12th place finish at Richmond.
“I think I’d like to look at the regular season – let’s just say if someone wins this weekend and we have 15 different winners and you take out a guy who is in the top 10 in points like Alex Bowman,” Harvick continued. “Should there be two or three spots in the regular season that are automatically locked in on points for a guy to win, he puts himself 30th in points, he puts himself in the conversation. If you win twice, you’re automatically in the rankings? You know, you’re ranked by multiple points? But I hate when someone like Alex Bowman gets knocked out by guys who have 25-plus points.”
Will the NASCAR Playoffs change in the near future? There is always a chance, but for now, and based on the 2026 calendar, it doesn’t look like it will happen in the very near future.
