Why Kevin Harvick won't be happy with NASCAR's latest change to playoff format
Kevin Harvick is wrapping up his 23rd and final season in the NASCAR Cup Series. As a staple in the sport for more than two decades, his voice matters.
Last season, he was outspoken and proposed the removal of cautions during stage breaks on road courses. NASCAR announced it would implement that change for the 2023 season, and through the first five road course races this year, drivers have competed under that new format.
This week, the sanctioning body reversed course, returning to the old format for the final road race of the year at the Charlotte Roval, and Harvick and many fans likely won't be happy with the reasons given.
Elton Sawyer, NASCAR senior vice president of competition, made the announcement during an appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
"Starting at the Roval, we will introduce the stage break cautions," he said. "And I'm sure the question from our fans and even from our competitors is, why do that now?
"One reason is we want to make sure that throughout the playoff, in the 10-race Cup Series playoffs, we want to make sure we're officiating across the board the same way. Now we will be. All of our races will have caution stage breaks. That includes the Roval here in a few weeks."
Sawyer's suggestion that NASCAR wanted to be consistent in officiating throughout the playoffs is puzzling and, quite frankly, nonsensical.
The officiating at the previous five road course races without stage cautions hasn't differed from any other races on the 36-race schedule. Drivers finishing in the top 10 are awarded points in decreasing order from first to 10th. The only difference is they don't stop when the stage ends. There's no additional officiating necessary.
Sawyer admitted that there was a second and more important reason for NASCAR's decision: the hope of making the racing better. Unfortunately, that line of thinking doesn't hold water because the racing has been good, evidenced by a weekly poll in which fans have been overwhelmingly positive about three of the five races.
NASCAR officials should know that the removal of stage cautions isn't the problem. It's the Next Gen car, which was designed for this type of racing, and the drivers, who have become much more adept on courses with left and right turns because there are so many more now on the schedule. Those two factors produce long green-flag runs and fewer cautions, which ultimately end in the races running their natural course and taking less time to complete.
Shorter races without numerous crashes and artificial stoppages/stage cautions aren't a bad thing. Harvick said as much last year when he proposed the format change. NASCAR apparently doesn't feel that way— at least not anymore.
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