Are you among those who feel the NASCAR Playoffs might just be the sport’s biggest misstep? By 2014, NASCAR unveiled the elimination-style playoff format, a bold gamble designed to keep fans hooked. On paper, it checked all the boxes: the high drama of a “win and you’re in” system, stage points up for grabs, elimination battles at every cut-off. Then came the grand finale, a one-race, winner-takes-all championship showdown. This recipe sounded like a sure-fire hit, but it came with a few bumps in the road.

Yes, the final 10 races often bring jaw-dropping storylines, photo finishes, Cinderella runs, and shocking upsets. But peel back the drama, and cracks start to show. The format is tangled in its own complexity: resets, point shuffles, and do-or-die moments that feel more manufactured than organic. Worst of all, it punishes season-long dominance. One unlucky night, one crash outside your control, and months of hard-earned work vanish in an instant. Little wonder, then, that a veteran crew chief has now taken aim at the NASCAR Playoffs.

Just hours ago, multimedia sports journalist Davey Segal took to X, stirring the pot by sharing a clip of his sit-down with veteran crew chief Scott Zipadelli. He captioned it, “Count veteran crew chief @SZipadelli as someone who is not a fan of the playoffs.” In the clip, Segal put Zipadelli on the spot, asking, “As somebody who’s been in the sport for as long as you have, seen all these iterations, won all these races, how do you feel about it and how does it all sit with you?”

Scott Zipadelli then bluntly stated, “If we were racing the old format, I would have three truck championships and Carson Hocevar would have never wrecked us for a championship at Phoenix. I think it was the worst thing NASCAR ever did to me. This is, these are my views and my views only.”

The incident Zipadelli is referring to happened in 2023 Craftsman 150 Championship 4 race at Phoenix Raceway. During that race, Corey Heim, Zipadelli’s driver, and Carson Hocevar were involved in a dual exchange. First, Hocevar had spun Heim around, and then, in retaliation, when Heim got the chance, he ran Hocevar into the wall, ending his race. Zipadelli feels that had it not been the elimination race, this stint wouldn’t have affected them.

He is clearly drawing a line in the sand as he believes the playoff format not only cost him titles but also tilts the sport away from rewarding season-long consistency. To him, the old system gave hard work its due, while the current one feels like a gamble where even strong performances don’t guarantee the crown. And he didn’t stop there.

Continuing his criticism, Zipadelli added, “I think all it does is promote mediocrity… You could have a truck win five or six races and not win the championship and the champion be, somebody who didn’t win a race all year. How is that promoting equality?

What he’s getting at here is the heart of his frustration: the playoff system, in his eyes, waters down excellence. It creates a situation where a dominant team can be left empty-handed, while someone who has never tasted victory might walk away with the championship.

This is exactly why he also touched upon parity. “‘Parity.’ That was the word for a long time. ‘We’re going to make all the vehicles the same and all trucks the same.’ We’re not the same. Some people just work harder than others, right? Some people are just better than others. So how can you make everybody equal? It would be a shame if we didn’t win the championship, but I understand there’s a 75% chance that we don’t and a 25% chance that we do.”

Zipadelli’s point is as simple as this: You can’t make a sport exciting if you make the players in it equal. His “We’re not the same” clearly reminds us how every competitor and car is naturally different, and that difference is what makes the results exciting and improbable, as opposed to leveling the playing field and then seeing who wins in those conditions.

With this, he’s essentially pointing out a fundamental truth of competition: equality on paper doesn’t translate to equality on the track. You see, NASCAR’s goal was simple – bring back unpredictability to a sport that had grown stagnant. And they knew, a driver wrapping up the title in September would hurt the excitement, so the playoff format was introduced to keep the championship alive until the final race. The move ultimately pleased TV networks and gave mid-pack drivers a chance through smart strategy and timing. But the downside was clear – it stopped rewarding consistency across the season.

Dale Jr. questions NASCAR playoffs

Last week, news broke that more members of NASCAR’s Playoff Committee than before had voiced support for bringing back the traditional full-season points system. While a return still seems unlikely, the timing of this discussion coincided with yet another sharp year-over-year drop in playoff race viewership.

The disappointing numbers quickly sparked debate among fans and insiders, with many questioning if declining ratings could push NASCAR to rethink its format. Among those backing the idea is Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr., who raised the same question yesterday, on the latest episode of the Dale Jr Download.

Earnhardt admitted that when the playoff committee first began its discussions, he believed a return to the full-season format was highly unlikely. However, with growing support for the system and viewership numbers continuing to slide, he’s beginning to wonder if such a dramatic shift could be the “Hail Mary” NASCAR needs. As he put it, “Is it possible that the decline in ratings has been something that’s convinced NASCAR that maybe that Hail Mary is worth it?”

At the same time, Earnhardt Jr acknowledged the risks. He explained that his initial hesitation came from the “risky” prospect of switching back to a 36-race season-long format after more than two decades with playoffs, even though he personally favors the old system. But now, as he compares the Cup Series playoff viewership at New Hampshire to “Xfinity numbers,” his stance is clear. “It’s a risky, risky big shift,” he said. “But what are we risking now? We have nothing to lose… A couple of weeks ago in New Hampshire, we had nearly Xfinity numbers in terms of viewership.”

That said, do you think NASCAR should scrap the playoffs and return to the traditional full-season points system? Let us know in the comments.