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NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin. Dave Kallmann / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

NASCAR Hall of Famer spars with media over playoff debate

By Samuel Stubbs | Last updated Jul 22, 2025 8:11 PM ET

Mark Martin has made his thoughts on the current NASCAR playoff format known, and those thoughts were further thrust into the limelight on Tuesday.

On Tuesday's edition of "Off Track" on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, hosts Danielle Trotta and Larry McReynolds were discussing the committee assembled by NASCAR to look at new ideas for the sport's points format.

"I'm not going to mention the driver that's on the playoff committee that I've heard is screaming loudly to go back to that (the Winston Cup points) system," Trotta said.

McReynolds followed up by saying, "I bet it's not a driver that's won a championship."

While McReynolds did not explicitly refer to Martin — who won 40 Cup Series races and was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2017 despite not winning a championship — it appeared to be implied that Martin was the driver he was referring to.

Trotta then responded to Martin's dislike of the current Cup Series playoff format.

Mark you know I love you but what we got is a whole lot better than what we used to do. We need a playoff we need eliminations we need to reward winning and consistency. This format does it all & is highly entertaining!
— Danielle Trotta (@DanielleTrotta) July 22, 2025

Martin's response was simple.

NO WE DONT https://t.co/fbL5M0VFlI
— Mark Martin (@markmartin) July 22, 2025

Fans have long debated the merit — or lack thereof — of NASCAR's playoff system, which has been used in some capacity since 2004 and has been in its current iteration since 2017.

Interestingly, both Martin and Jeff Gluck of The Athletic polled fans on social media regarding the points format they'd like to see in NASCAR. The results of both polls favored Martin's opinion of a yearlong points system without a postseason.

Later in the afternoon, however, McReynolds stated on social media that he was not referring to Martin earlier in the day.

"Absolutely not true!," McReynolds said. "Mark Martin is my hero and (I'm) proud to call him a friend! If you would listen closely it’s a driver that is active and on the council! I find it so hard to believe how you folks come up with stuff sometimes!"

Absolutely not true! Mark Martin is my hero and proud to call him a friend! If you would listen closely it’s a driver that is active and on the council! I find it so hard to believe how you folks come up with stuff sometimes!
— Larry McReynolds (@LarryMac28) July 22, 2025

Regardless of who McReynolds meant to refer to during the show, the comments made by both he and Trotta ignited plenty of discourse regarding Martin and NASCAR's current playoff format.

It's unknown whether NASCAR will make any changes to the format in 2026.

Samuel Stubbs

Hailing from the same neck of the woods as NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Samuel has been covering NASCAR for Yardbarker since February 2024. He has been a member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) since October of 2024. When he’s not writing about racing, Samuel covers Arkansas Razorback basketball for Yardbarker

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