Is a racing playoff winner a legitimate champion?

(Photo: Hudson O'Neal was the 2023 Lucas Oil champion)

This will likely not be one of the most popular blogs I have ever written, but then again, it is not really my job to simply write what will be considered popular. Rather, the purpose of being a blogger is to lay out an opinion then to provide evidence to defend that opinion. 

So, let's get to the heart of the matter. Within the past few weeks, Ryan Blaney and Hudson O'Neal earned championships in the NASCAR Cup Series and the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series by means of a Playoff or Chase format. It is my opinion that both are, in fact, legitimate champions. 

There's the opinion so now is the time to defend that opinion. 

The most obvious defense is the fact that both Blaney and O'Neal emerged victorious under the rules that had been clearly established before their seasons ever began. Knowing that, they and the other competitors could have chosen to race somewhere else if they did not like the system. That is especially true of Dirt Late Model racers considering that there are alternatives to the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series in the form of the World of Outlaws CASE Construction Late Model Series, the Castrol FloRacing Night in America Series and the XR Super Series as well as a myriad of regional tours to choose from. 

That would not necessarily be true for those who participate in NASCAR unless they wanted to try their hand at IndyCar or some other form of pavement competition. 

To be honest, when I first heard, prior to the 2004 season, that NASCAR was going to use this thing called the Chase for the Championship to determine its champion, I thought it was the dumbest thing I had ever heard. And I continued to think that for several years. However, my mind has changed for several reasons. 

The overall health of each form of motorsports is one aspect that I was refusing to consider in the seasons that followed the introduction of the Chase format. As much as those of us who have a few years behind us may hate to admit it, the business model of the sport surviving solely on ticket sales has been dead for years. The financial prosperity of racing, just like football or any other sport, comes more from sponsorships and television rights now. 

Of course, it is good for racing as a whole when announcements can be made that the grandstands for the Daytona 500 and the upcoming NASCAR Cup Series race in Iowa have already been sold out. Like a restaurant with a full parking lot and waiting area, it gives off the 'this is the place to be' perception to passers by. But at the same time, ticket sales have been surpassed by the billions of dollars now generated by the distribution of television rights in NASCAR and the millions brought in by the dirt racing streaming services in the form of subscriptions sold.

Based on recent news, NASCAR will soon be joining the streaming fray in the next few years. 

The argument of how much the tracks should be benefitting from the sale of streaming subscriptions is one for another time(and it will be addressed in the future). 

The reality is that the business model has changed from the way it used to be in all aspects of sports. To demonstrate that, there was virtually a full year not that long ago in which a significant number of sporting events were contested in empty arenas yet those sports survived, and in some cases, learned a new way to thrive. 

As far as sponsorship being a major revenue provider in sports, racing led the way in that area. Now, others are following the example NASCAR and other forms of racing set in terms of using outside companies to bring in capital. 

All of that was said to point out that the amount of money brought in by television and streaming as well as sponsorship comes with a price. Obviously, the networks and streamers want the highest possible ratings so that their advertising space and subscriptions can be sold for the highest possible amount and the sponsors want the greatest amount of exposure possible. 

And that is exactly what the NASCAR Playoffs and the Big River Steel Chase for the Championship did for their respective series. 

Once the money is accepted, their influence is also brought in. 

NASCAR has obviously been able to sell its stake holders on the idea that a Playoff type format will provide the highest ratings and the most exposure. And obviously those stakeholders agree or else their influence, or in other words, their money would be taken elsewhere. 

(Photo: Ryan Blaney was the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion)

All of that is a very longwinded way of saying that Playoff or Chase formats are the new "legitimate" way of crowning racing champions. It isn't the system that would be my first choice but I am not getting any money from the deal. Some may calling it 'selling your soul' while others may refer to it simply as 'survival', but whatever the case, it is how racing now generates its revenue. 

The format is laid out before the season ever starts. And furthermore, no one hands back the check they are written when the points fund money is doled out. No one got fooled or was misled. 

So yes, Ryan Blaney and Hudson O'Neal were the legitimate champions of their respective forms of motorsports in 2023. 

There it is, my opinion on whether or not a champion determined by a playoff system is legitimate. Feel free to agree or disagree on the new MotorsportsReport.net page on Facebook or by tagging @RichardAllenMSR on X(Twitter). The MotorsportsReport.net website will be coming soon.