Surprise exits, stunning upsets, and wild finishes are hallmarks of the modern playoff format in NASCAR. However, there are several signs that point to this year being unlike any that came before it. There are familiar faces out and unexpected names in, all wrapped around a schedule that has doubled the number of drafting tracks and road courses. While the dominant driver has fallen short of the title before, this could be the year where someone truly unexpected wins it all.
Chaos factor benefitting the underdogs
For the very first time, the final ten races will feature two road courses and two drafting tracks. Joining the Charlotte ROVAL and Talladega Superspeedway will be Watkins Glen International and Atlanta Motor Speedway. The Olympic break forced NASCAR to shake up the schedule, and now these races are evenly split between the first two rounds.
That is key for drivers such as Harrison Burton, who would normally struggle for results on the standard tracks that cover most of the schedule. But since its reconfiguration, Atlanta now races more like a superspeedway. Earlier this year, the race featured ten cautions with 28 of 37 drivers involved in a crash. It ended in a dramatic three-wide photo finish where Daniel Suarez earned Trackhouse Racing’s only victory of the 2024 season. The advantage teams such as Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing enjoy will be severely blunted by the addition of another drafting track, where anyone can win and one wrong move can leave title favorites with disastrous finishes.
Watch: Race Rewind: Crazy race, photo finish at Atlanta
The same can be said for Talladega in the second round, which is a fixture in the playoffs and has always stood as the most dreaded race of the postseason. Surprise playoff entries can utilize these drafting tracks in back-to-back rounds, and even vault themselves into the third round by simply avoiding the carnage — or even stealing another win.
The Charlotte ROVAL is another race that has produced no shortage of chaos. With how strategies play out at road courses, drivers often have to sacrifice track position for stage points, jumbling the order and putting these drivers deep in the field for the restarts that follow. Now, this will happen twice with the inclusion of Watkins Glen in the opening round.
Four of the first six races in the playoffs are these unpredictable tracks, providing ample opportunity for underdogs to make a truly deep run into…
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