Ryan Preece secured the final spot in the Chase this past weekend at Daytona in dramatic fashion. Only a win would produce enough points for Preece to jump into the top 16 in the standings and steal him a spot in the postseason, and the No. 60 ran a near-perfect race to do just that.
But Preece’s triumph mean heartbreak for another driver, as Shane van Gisbergen was bumped out of the top 16, eliminating him from postseason contention. It was a tough break for SVG, made even tougher by a quirk of the Chase format.
Because the Chase jumps up the top 16 drivers in points, those drivers outside of the Chase are unable to advance their position in the final season standings any further than 17th place. For SVG, this means that the only direction he can move in the standings is down.
Denny Hamlin expressed frustration with the system on his podcast Actions Detrimental. Hamlin initially incorrectly believed that SVG would be able to improve his position under the new Chase system.
“I believe that once the season is over, they re-rack the points to say, ‘Okay, if there wasn’t a Chase, where would you have ended up?’ Except for the champion of course. I thought that this was part of the changes. That just because you don’t make the Chase doesn’t mean 17th is the best you can finish in points. If not, that blows.”
Hamlin said that making it so that drivers outside of the Chase could still advance up the standings was a change he had advocated for as NASCAR shifted to its new system this year.
“It used to be the win and you’re in, someone that was 30th in points wins, locks themselves into the top 16 because of one race? That’s crazy talk,” Hamlin said. “The guy in 17th in points who just barely misses the Chase goes on a great run over the last 10, he deserves to be in the top 10 if that’s where it took him.”
Unfortunately for Hamlin, and especially for SVG, that is not the case. When Hamlin was informed that yes, SVG could not finish the year higher than 17th, he was visibly frustrated.
“That is bullsh*t,” Hamlin said. “I’ve got notes saying they were changing that. That’s a killer. That’s a killer. We talked about that with NASCAR. Locking these guys out of being able to advance their position, that’s unfair.”
Hamlin appeared to be scrolling through his phone looking for the notes he was referring to having. “He missed it by a couple of points. You’re telling me the next 10 races he’s maxed out? If you take all 36 races into account he could be way higher.”
Hamlin’s frustration is understandable, but as any sports fan knows, there is no perfect postseason system. Yes, it is frustrating that SVG can only move down in the standings for the rest of the season, but it’s also true that every driver that failed to make the Chase cannot rise higher than 16th.
Hypothetically, a driver outside of the Chase could win the next 10 races to close the season, but because they did not make the Chase over the course of the regular season, they would not be champion. That’s simply how the system works.
Unless NASCAR decides to get rid of the Chase entirely and revert to a structure based solely on season-long points, there’s always going to be a few drivers left in a bad position because of the breaks of the Chase.
Watch: Race Rewind: Preece wins his way into The Chase at Daytona
