NASCAR star hits out at DEVALUING of championship

A star NASCAR driver has hit out at the Cup Series' playoff format, claiming it 'devalues' the championship.

Kyle Larson won six races in the regular season and playoffs in 2024, but failed to make it through to the Championship 4 thanks to a couple of poorly-timed disappointing results.

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Larson even managed to win races in the Round of 16 and Round of 12 to comfortably put himself through to the last eight, looking like one of the favorites for the title.

The playoff system has been in place for two decades at this point in various guises, and in its current format since 2018 after a number of tweaks.

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Kyle Larson steals one from Shane Golobic!

The former NASCAR champion gets by Golobic during the green-white-checkered and takes Night 1 of the 39th Chili Bowl Nationals.

Both will lock into the top 10 for Saturday's main event.
🎥 @FloRacingpic.twitter.com/ZDxKxymZg3

— Always Race Day (@AlwaysRaceDay) January 14, 2025

What is Kyle Larson's issue with the NASCAR playoffs?

Speaking as part of a season preview for Hendrick Motorsports, Larson said: "If anything, I just think the format in a way devalues a championship. Especially in the Next-Gen era. So, I think obviously you'd like to win the most races and win the championship and all that, but I think winning six races, that's extremely tough to do, and we were a factor in many more than that.

"So, I'm proud of the season, proud of the effort from the team, and looking forward to next year too. We'll hopefully start off strong and carry it on through the playoffs like we did this year."

He continued: "I think we had a great year [in 2024]. You led the series in a lot of categories, most all the categories, so, yeah, it was a little disappointing to not get the chance to race for a championship at Phoenix, but at the same point, I understand the format.

"I really wasn't that upset during the week of Phoenix because I knew no matter the result, we were going to end the season with the most wins. And to me, these days, that's as important as winning a championship."

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