During the "win and in" era of the NASCAR playoff format, it made sense that NASCAR required all drivers to run every regular season race to retain playoff eligibilty.
This prevented full-time drivers from picking and choosing which races to run and which to skip (even though absolutely nobody was willingly skipping races, but that's beside the point...), and it prevented part-time drivers from hogging playoff spots simply because they won in one (or more) of their limited number of appearances.
However, drivers could apply for playoff waivers if they missed a race (or more), and NASCAR generally granted those waivers, because again, nobody was willingly sitting out of races. Drivers were granted waivers due to medical reasons, family emergencies, or even suspensions, among other things.
The playoff format has been overhauled for the 2026 season, with points and points alone setting the playoff fields across the Cup Series (16 drivers), O'Reilly Auto Parts Series (12), and Craftsman Truck Series (10). There is no more "win and in".
Yet NASCAR, for some reason, still requires drivers who miss races to apply for playoff waivers to remain playoff eligible.
Brent Crews was born on March 30, 2008, so his 18th birthday was this past March 30, meaning he was not old enough to run four of the first six races of the 2026 O'Reilly Series season. Those four races were contested on ovals measuring more than 1.25 miles in length, so he was ineligible to compete as a 17-year-old.
Crews was required to apply for a playoff waiver to retain playoff eligibility, and as expected, it was granted. He was always designated as a full-time driver, despite the fact that he had to miss the races at Daytona International Speedway, EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta Motor Speedway), Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and Darlington Raceway.
But that begs the question: what the heck is the point?
Just let him be playoff eligible without the stupid waiver process. Let anybody designated as a full-time driver be eligible.
If a full-time driver can get into the top 12 in the standings despite missing races, more power to him. There is quite literally no need for the formality of a waiver, which implies that a driver needs special permission to compete for a championship despite performing at, or even above, a championship-caliber level.
We're not talking about missing 11 races, winning once, and locking yourself into the playoffs because of it. This isn't 2015.
If you miss 11 regular races and still finish behind no more than 11 rivals, beating out enough drivers on points to get in, so be it. If that's the case, then there is absolutely no world in which those other drivers would have deserved your spot anyway.
Crews is proving it. Despite having run just eight of 12 races so far this season, the Hickory, North Carolina native is already up to 14th in the point standings, placing him just 12 points below the cut line between P12 and P13.
He is averaging 34.13 points per race, which is good for fourth in the series and places him 10.38 points per race ahead of Haas Factory Team's Sam Mayer, who currently occupies the 12th and final spot in the provisional playoff field.
Crews has reeled off four consecutive top five finishes, something no other driver has done over that stretch, and has finished outside of the top 10 only twice all year.
It feels like only a matter of time before he's in that top 12 for good.
Good thing he got his waiver. But better thing if he never had to worry about it to begin with.
In the new "Chase" postseason era, a playoff waiver serves about as much purpose as a screen door on a submarine. With "win and in" gone, the waiver is quite literally nothing more than an illusion of gatekeeping set forth by NASCAR to make sure nobody cuts class, when this is no longer elementary school.to begin with. It's a relic of a bygone era, and it needs to go.
Add us as a preferred source on Google