NASCAR Cup Series driver and 2020 Champion shared his thoughts on Joey Logano locking himself into the Championship race at Phoenix with a victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last weekend.
Chase Elliott via Matt Weaver on X
Logano’s victory has and his chances of winning the Championship has sparked significant criticism of NASCAR’s playoff format.
One user on X, wrote, “if joey logano, a driver with ten top 10s and an average finish of 18th, wins this title. that is the biggest alarm to abolish this format. it’s been apparent for years, and that should be the final straw.”
if joey logano, a driver with ten top 10s and an average finish of 18th, wins this title. that is the biggest alarm to abolish this format. it’s been apparent for years, and that should be the final straw.
— Speedy // Comms open! (@DesignsSf) October 20, 2024
Another wrote, “‘Logano has 3 wins.’ I’m sorry, he’s 15th. It’s not hating the player, it’s hating the game; the player just happens to be (yet another) good example of the game’s severe flaws. You’re right, the game has changed. But it has changed for the worse in every aspect.”
“Logano has 3 wins.” I’m sorry, he’s 15th. It’s not hating the player, it’s hating the game; the player just happens to be (yet another) good example of the game’s severe flaws. You’re right, the game has changed. But it has changed for the worse in every aspect. https://t.co/W8XFyARnai
— Alexander (@AlextheAdm1ral) October 23, 2024
Elliott shared his thoughts on the matter in an interview with Matt Weaver.
He said, “It’s not Joey’s fault that the format is what it is. I look at those guys and the job that they did this last weekend, they took a chance and regardless of how they got in, that was irrelevant, to them they were in. They took a chance and it worked out for them.”
“I think while everybody can have mixed emotions or feel this, or that, or whatever, this is the format,” he continued. “Who are we or anybody else to blame for doing their jobs and punching their ticket? That’s not their fault. And I think it’s silly of us to take that away from them in any right. Because that’s what it is. I can’t change that.”
Chase Elliott via Peter Stratta YouTube
Elliott then shared his thoughts on the format, “I don’t necessarily love the format, personally. I certainly benefited from a good streak in ’20 that carried us through Phoenix. I’m proud of that, for sure. It’s a different time nowadays and this is the format you have to work with and those guys capitalized on it.”
“Don’t hate them,” he concluded.
I asked Chase Elliott how he felt about the debate surrounding the legitimacy of the 22 team’s final four berth.
He offered a nuanced take.
These are the rules even if they aren’t his preferred rules of crowning a champion. pic.twitter.com/E9JZoWK984
— Matt Weaver (@MattWeaverRA) October 23, 2024
What do you make of Elliott’s comments on Logano’s victory and the discussion regarding the NASCAR Playoffs?