Time for NASCAR to scrap the playoffs

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs are well underway as only eight contenders remain for the championship, though I am getting fed up with the playoff implications taking the center stage in the fall races. I have tried to be open-minded about the playoffs, though I just dislike them more and more every year. I would just like to enjoy the races and let the championship unfold naturally without the playoffs.

Kyle Larson, one of only three drivers to win at least four races, not advancing into the round of eight questions the rationality of the playoff format. Martin Truex Jr. has arguably been the best driver of the season and it would feel so wrong if he had one bad race in the playoffs that cost him the title.

The playoffs are just a wrong way to decide the championship. After 35 races, the championship should not come down to which of the four contenders finishes highest in the final race, regardless of their record leading into it.

Even the three-race playoff rounds are too short to determine which drivers will advance. While the playoffs make the championship battle more unpredictable, fans want to see the four best drivers racing for the title in the championship finale. The playoffs don't guarantee that.

NASCAR is suffering from a declining viewership and tries to create excitement with the playoff format. Yet despite all the rule changes for this year, NASCAR's TV ratings have continued to decline. It's time for NASCAR to do away with the gimmicks and make the racing exciting again. The gimmicks only make NASCAR a laughing stock; it's good racing that people want to see.

The playoff format undermines the credibility of the NASCAR championship. The championship should show who was the best driver of the season; with the playoffs that's questionable. I'd prefer a simple full-season championship format, though I'd be fine even with a return to the original 10-race 10-driver Chase for the Cup; 10 races is enough to determine the champion.

As a more radical idea, I'd award the championship to the driver with most wins. In most seasons, the drivers with most wins are separated by only one or two wins and the championship would remain open until the last two races. While it might not reward consistency, I think winning is what racing is all about. The driver who has won most races has done the best job.

The big problem of NASCAR is the on-track product and you can't fix it with the playoffs. NASCAR needs cars that race well. More power, less grip should mean better racing. Make the cars less sensitive aerodynamically to allow closer racing. And add power to make the cars more difficult to drive.

Sometimes I wonder if NASCAR is even worth watching. It's one of the greatest racing series in the world and has some great talent among its drivers. Yet bad racing and an artificial championship format are making it a travesty of a great series. I hope NASCAR can fix itself, though I'm afraid the solutions the management will come up with will only make it worse. I'm not sure how long I want to watch that.