Matt Crafton broke NASCAR's playoff system with a winless 2019 title season

Amidst all the criticism of Joey Logano's 2024 run to the NASCAR Cup Series championship, it's important to remember that the three-time champion was not the first driver to "break" the NASCAR playoff format. 

Since the format - which places an emphasis on winning above all else  was introduced in 2014, a few drivers came close to upstaging the system and winning the title with either one win or none at all.

In 2014, Ryan Newman went winless throughout the Cup Series season, but advanced to the first ever Championship 4. If he had passed Kevin Harvick on the final restart at Homestead that year, he would've won the title with only a single win to his credit. 

A year later, Jeff Gordon's middling results in his swan song season were forgotten when he scored the final win of his career at Martinsville, earning a bid to the championship race where he finished third among the championship contenders. 

But it was Matt Crafton's 2019 season in the NASCAR Truck Series that served as the playoff format's first major crack. 

The legitimacy of NASCAR's postseason format had been highly controversial since it was first introduced in 2004. Those conversations only got louder when the elimination-style rounds and 'win-and-you're-in' system were introduced in the mid 2010s. 

In a format where winning trumps all else, it seemed impossible that a driver could put together a mediocre season — especially a winless one — and still walk away with the championship trophy. 

But Crafton, then a two-time Truck Series champion and 14-time Truck Series winner thought otherwise. 

Going into the playoffs, Crafton's championship rivals boasted far better resumes than the Tulare, California native. Defending champion Brett Moffitt was the No. 1 seed, while regular-season champion Grant Enfinger was the No. 2 seed. 

Niece Motorsports' Ross Chastain had three wins to his credit. Johnny Sauter and Stewart Friesen each had won one race earlier in the season. 

And there sat Crafton, the No. 6 seed in the eight-driver playoffs, with zero wins on the year and only 11 playoff points to speak of. 

Over the final seven races of the season, Crafton went on what is perhaps the most unremarkable championship run in the 20-year history of NASCAR's playoff formats. It was an average finish of 12.4 in the playoffs that got him to the championship stage. In the seven playoff races, Crafton led a total of 10 laps — 22.7% of the 44 he led all season. 

Yet, as Austin Hill won the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Crafton was there to finish second — his first top-five of the playoffs — and earn his third Truck Series title. 

It was a run indicative of the future uproar to come regarding NASCAR's playoff format. A system that was designed to reward winning and dominance above all else was played perfectly — and dare we say, by accident — by a veteran driver in the midst of what was, by his standards, a fairly middling campaign. 

Crafton only posted seven top-five finishes in 2019, led only 44 laps and had a rather drab, albeit consistent season that culminated in an unsatisfying championship result for fans. 

On that November night in South Florida, fans could point to Crafton as the man who started the conversation regarding the practicality of NASCAR's postseason. 

Five years later in the midst of the newest controversial NASCAR champion, the sanctioning body may finally be about to make changes to a system that Crafton proved to be fatally flawed.