After another wreck-filled pack race at Talladega Superspeedway, does the track really belong in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs?
It seems like the question is asked every year, because each and every NASCAR Cup Series season features a playoff race at Talladega Superspeedway that ends up producing several massive wrecks, ruins the chances for several championship contenders to win the race via somebody else’s mistake and lessens their chances to continue competing for the championship.
With all of that in mind, does Talladega Superspeedway really belong in the Cup Series playoffs?
The playoffs have existed since the 2004 season, and the four-turn, 2.66-mile (4.281-kilometer) high-banked Talladega Superspeedway oval in Lincoln, Alabama has been on the playoff schedule in each of the seasons that have been held since their implementation. Additionally, it is on the 2020 playoff schedule as well, marking 17 consecutive years.
That should not change.
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If you eliminate Talladega Superspeedway from the playoffs, you might as well eliminate the playoffs.
Of course, there are many fans who would like to see the playoffs eliminated, and that’s fine. But that only further illustrates the idea that as long as they exist, there is no reason to include Talladega Superspeedway in them whatsoever.
Why?
Because those who want to see the playoffs eliminated would rather just see one big 36-race season, where drivers accrue points and the driver with the most points wins the championship, like in the pre-2004 days. No individual race means any more than any other race, regardless of where it is held and at what point in the season it is contested.
The 10-race playoffs effectively serve as a microcosm of the 26-race regular season. The regular season includes three superspeedway races, including two at Daytona International Speedway and one at Talladega Superspeedway.
Having one superspeedway race in the playoffs is illustrative of this concept.
Such is the case with other types of tracks as well. The regular season includes two road course races, and the playoffs include one. The regular season also includes 17 intermediate track races while the playoffs include six, and it includes four short track races while the playoffs include two.
Why should we exclude superspeedway races from this microcosm?
We shouldn’t.
Superspeedway races are a part of NASCAR racing. Yes, they tend to serve as wild card races due to the level of pack racing and the attrition rates that are typically present in them, which can shuffle the order to the point where regular backmarkers run toward the front of the field and championship contenders end up seeing their championship chances take a hit when they end up in the wall.
But in reality, they simply present a different kind of racing, just like road course races, intermediate track races and short track races do. It’s not like the 26-race regular season of road courses, intermediate tracks and short tracks leads up to a 10-race playoffs at Talladega Superspeedway or Daytona International Speedway.
It’s one race.
Why bother going to those tracks at all in the regular season if running well at them means next to nothing from a championship context?