Mark Martin makes his feelings perfectly clear on | Sports News

NASCAR legend Mark Martin directed an unsubtle dig at Denny Hamlin after the Joe Gibbs Racing driver demanded that adjustments be made to the present Cup Series playoff format.

In latest years, the winner-take-all postseason make-up has been a matter of fierce debate, with followers, drivers and pundits alike weighing in on the matter. After Joey Logano’s championship win final season stirred up a wave of backlash, NASCAR officers fiercely defended the format earlier than asserting that no adjustments could be made this yr.

That hasn’t stopped Martin and Hamlin from devising a collection of alterations that’d make the playoffs a higher product. While talking to Frontstretch, the 66-year-old voiced his need to see NASCAR return to a 36-race, no-playoff system — although he would accept a 10-race “chase” format as effectively.

“I’m not saying it would be more exciting or not even saying it would be as exciting. I’m just saying that the fans want it, over 50% want 36 races and then the next 30% want a 10-race chase.

“I’ve by no means mentioned this, and I do not wish to say it however … I’d accept a 10-race chase. I’d be dissatisfied, however I’m gonna be crushed with what we wind up with, as a result of I do know what’s coming.”

Turning his consideration to the opinions expressed by drivers presently on the grid, Martin added: “The guys in the sport would like to see a sample size of maybe three races. That might make Denny Hamlin feel better about a championship, about it not being a one-race lucky deal or something, but it ain’t gonna move the needle for the fans.

“How’s that going to change how the followers really feel about it? So you went to 3 races. 10 is the least quantity that I’d do if I used to be going to compromise.”

On the newest episode of the ‘Actions Detrimental’ podcast, Hamlin revealed that the majority of the NASCAR Playoff Committee is pushing for a new Championship format.

“I will say that most of the room, if not all of the room’s general opinion is that the one race thing needs to go,” he mentioned. “No one ever tries to throw mud on anyone that has won a championship under this format, but there is a large concern of the legitimacy of it, which is very valid.

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“One race is just not the way to do it, and stop comparing it to the Super Bowl, because that’s a 1 vs. 1. The other 30 teams are not on the field, you know, tripping you and tying your shoelaces together, trying to keep people [from] winning.

“We work as drivers … to make it to the top level. And all these teams do is spend tremendous resources week in week out to build the best and the fastest cars possible. And they hire the best and the fastest drivers that are possible to go out there and get the best result. But you must create a larger sample size to crown your champion because in one race, anything can happen. Anything could happen. So everything that I work for can get taken away by someone else that has nothing to do with this championship battles.”

As for how to improve the playoff system and appease all events concerned, Hamlin instructed holding the lively 4 spherical format however rising the worth of bonus factors. “There’s a lot of different formats that are better than what we have now,” he mentioned. “As a band aid, do you just take the current and you up all the bonus points?”