AVONDALE, Ariz. — The arrival of NASCAR Championship Weekend at Phoenix Raceway brings about the annual State of the Sport address from NASCAR President Steve Phelps and NASCAR Chief Operating Officer Steve O’Donnell.
Here is a rundown of what was said and asked as NASCAR prepares to close out its 2023 season and move ahead to 2024 and beyond.
The Playoff Format
- Phelps defended the drivers that qualified for the Championship 4 in all three series, saying that every driver knew the format and that these drivers competed at the highest level to make it in.
- “You have a former champion (Ryan Blaney) who won to get in, just as he did last year. You have our regular season champion (Tyler Reddick) who won to get in here and you have a two-time Cup champion (Joey Logano) who won to get there. And then the young man who pointed his way through, William Byron, is an incredible talent. So all four of these drivers deserve to be here, full stop.”
- O’Donnell immediately shut down any controversy and uncertainty regarding the playoff system’s future, stating that “we’re absolutely going to stick with it.”
- That said, he remarked that NASCAR is always listening to fans, and he did not rule out any changes to the system for next year: “We’ll absolutely look at what form the playoffs take in the offseason.”
- Phelps argued that NASCAR isn’t the only sport where the winningest or the best statistical teams have failed to reach the final round of the playoffs and that the format itself has produced excellent racing in the past nine weeks.
Martinsville Race Manipulation Controversy
- NASCAR had a sit down with the OEMs and said that it was “very clear in what our intentions are going forward.”
- There was nothing in the rulebook to penalize OEMs in situations like last weekend, but that will be changed starting next year.
- The drivers themselves were given the “benefit of the doubt” as they were holding the wheel and told the instructions from the teams.
- NASCAR has a meeting with the drivers Nov. 9, saying that last weekend at Martinsville is a warning and that they will be penalized if this situation arises again.
- O’Donnell: “What I saw in Martinsville pissed me off, and it pissed everyone off at NASCAR because we all know better, and we know what happens.”
- “We’re not going to let people, drivers, teams, anyone, OEMs challenge the integrity of the sport.”
The Current Charter…
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