May 1, 2016; Talladega, AL, USA; NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers during the GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports /
Does The New Format Impact The Championship? Is It Well-Received?
Christopher Olmstead: The new format will not impact who wins at Homestead but it will impact who gets there. I think we will see a driver make the final-four who would have been eliminated under the 2016 rules. As far as it being well-received? NASCAR fans are stubborn, the majority who hate it now will still hate it at the end of the season.
Alex Herbst: The new format to be introduced in all three national levels of NASCAR is going to be confusing for a lot of people. I expect problems to arise in television coverage and race decisions for the first few weeks, and it may take longer for fans to understand it. The format may become more well-liked as the season goes. However, judgement by a lot of fans will be held until 2018, to see if series officials change it once more.
Matt Lovisa: The new format will impact the season as we hit the summer months. Most drivers and teams will take full advantage of playoff points when the green flag waves in Daytona, but the impact will be seen once we hit August when teams only have a few races left to build their playoff lead. NASCAR fans have already seemed to be on the more favorable side of the changes and I think that stays the same once fans realize bonus points will rollover in the playoffs and help their favorite driver each week.
Michael Guadalupe: I don’t think it will have an impact. The goal is to still win or stay in the top 10 each race to hold a comfortable spot in the standings. I think fans won’t even notice the difference when the season is over.
Dhruva Byrapatna: There’ll be a mixed reaction. Some old-school fans will certainly stop watching, but by cutting down the number of green-flag ads, the race segments could start bringing in new fans. Some fans will love the new points and some will hate it, but we won’t understand the full impact for several years.
Kayla Gipson: Going off what I said above, it seems this format mixes the old point system with the playoff format. So, drivers will have to watch for guys who don’t win a whole bunch but like to rack up those top tens and top fives.
Once everyone has one season to see how the new format works on the track. More fans would have warmed up to it and will probably enjoy it more than any of the other playoff formats.
Dominic Lee: I believe the new format will make racing more exciting in the fact that drivers will not be able to just “drop to the back and ride” at tracks such as Daytona and Talladega. Also, I believe this will be a case where many fans have to see the product on the track in order to judge it just as they did with the new elimination style playoff.
