In the high-stakes world of NASCAR Cup Series racing, playoff formats have become as hotly debated as the races themselves.
Fans, analysts, and even some drivers go back and forth over whether the current system truly rewards the best team over the course of a long season or just the hottest one at the right time. But for Bubba Wallace, all that chatter? It barely registers.
Bubba Wallace Focused on Performance, Not Playoff Math
Speaking with Frontstretch, Wallace made it clear that his focus isn’t on dissecting rules or hypotheticals, it’s on execution.
“Really, really good our chances leaving here tomorrow night, even in the future for the playoffs. So our team has been firing off cyliners, just a couple of things to clean up,” Wallace said. “And the reason why we can’t get victory lane tomorrow night and continue to add bonus points, that’s been really big. We picked up the statement last weekend, so that gets us an extra one.”
Bubba Wallace, who drives for 23XI Racing, has been steadily sharpening his edge as the playoffs loom. Yet, while many drivers get caught up in the what-ifs of the playoff system, Wallace wants no part of that distraction.
“I Can Give Two Craps About the Format”
“You can lead me out of the format talks,” he continued. “If I have a contract and have a car and have a team and all this stuff, I’m gonna go race with whatever it is and try to be the best, right? I can give two craps about how it is. Like, I’m not dismissing people’s opinions at all. I hear all that, but bad job.”
“This is what we’re paid to do, and we’re paid to be the best, beat the rest, right? And once you do that, you become champion. No matter what format it is, you were the best of that current format. So whatever format comes our way.”
It’s a refreshingly straightforward stance, especially in an era where playoff debates often drown out the on-track storylines. Bubba Wallace’s message is basically: don’t get lost in the noise, just win.
Jeff Burton Defends the Current Playoff System
Interestingly, longtime Jeff Burton, a former driver turned analyst for NBC Sports, also waded into the playoff format debate, offering a more nuanced defense of the system. Speaking with Nick DeGroot, Burton explained that while critics have valid points, the system ultimately rewards those who master it.
“I want to be clear about something,” Burton said. “I believe that the people who do it best are the ones who are successful, and so if the rule is changed, it doesn’t mean that the people that won championships under this format weren’t deserving. The competitors have to play by the rules that the sanctioning body creates, and the ones that do it best are the champions, period, end of story.
“I know people say ‘well a playoff is not indicative of who had the best season.’ Well yeah, you can make that case in every sport. And then they’ll say ‘well it’s different in motorsports’, okay, I can hear that argument. It is different, and motorsports is different than other sports, but other sports have their challenges too. Look at the injuries in football, basketball, there are all kinds of things that make every sport unique to themselves.”
Burton did acknowledge the argument for a longer championship stretch:
“I will also say that if we had more races to determine a champion, I’m good with that. I think that does do some things that some critics of the current playoffs where one race shouldn’t mean this much, I can get around that. That is a realistic argument, but I also can’t sit here and tell you that Joey Logano or Ryan Blaney isn’t a worthy champion just because of the format.”
At the end of the day, both Bubba Wallace and Burton seem to agree on one thing: the format may shift, but greatness always rises, and that’s what truly defines a champion.
