- Joey Logano, a two-time NASCAR champion, describes the season as one of stepping stones when it comes to winning the series championship.
- The first step is winning a race to secure a playoff berth.
- Once that has been accomplished, the next step is gaining as many playoff points as possible.
NASCAR Cup drivers say the belief they change their approach to races and focus solely on preparing for the playoffs once they win an event during the regular season is a misnomer; however, they admit it does allow them to take more chances during an event.
“You can’t let your foot off the gas,” Joey Logano says. “NASCAR’s schedule and point system is there to apply pressure all the time. It is not like it used to be where you won a race and you’re locked into the playoffs, and everyone is stacking up pretty close in the points to where you can have a bad race and it doesn’t matter. It’s not like that anymore.”
The two-time NASCAR champion describes the season as one of stepping stones when it comes to winning the series championship. The first step is winning a race to secure a playoff berth. Once that has been accomplished, the next step is gaining as many playoff points as possible.
Drivers earn five playoff points for each race win, and one playoff point for each stage win. Drivers also earn bonus points for finishing in the top-10 in the regular-season final standings.
“With regular season points that turn into playoff points, regular season championship or the top 10 in points are big,” Logano says. “Every Stage is big. Every race win is big.
“That’s why I get a little confused sometimes when fans say they want it the way it used to be. Do you remember what that was? That sucked! This is great! The intensity is ridiculous all the way through the whole season.”
Two-time NASCAR champion Kyle Busch says that once a regular-season victory is obtained one doesn’t stress out “about every single move all the time.”
“You’re going to put yourself in some tighter spots on restarts and things like that because you do have that win and you’re going to be a little bit more aggressive,” Busch says. “Having that win allows you to push. It allowed us to push fuel at Talladega to grab another win.”
Chris Buescher, a 2016 playoff participant who earned a victory last year after the post-season began, agreed with Busch.
“You can take more risks, different strategy calls, more options,” Buescher says. "It makes it to where you don’t have to points race. Points racing can get you in trouble.”
Currently, all but 10 drivers, two fewer than at the same time last year, are points racing while attempting to secure a victory. Those 10 drivers after 16 races are Busch, Logano, William Byron, Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney, Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Of those 10, only four – Byron, Busch, Larson and Logano – were in the same position at the same time last year.
Larson believes the drivers around the playoff point bubble must be “a little bit more cautious and patient, pick-and-choose” their moves.
“Maybe you’re a little less aggressive, but … you know what a win does, so you’re also really aggressive,” Larson said. “Everybody in the field is always doing everything they can to win the race.”
