CHANGE THE PLAYOFF FORMAT

I love drag racing but find the NHRA playoff format completely lacking
excitement. Anderson clinched in qualifying on Saturday, Dixon clinched in the 1st round without having to race Schumacher, Force clinched in the 3rd round without having to race Hagan, and Tonglet clinched without having to race Hines.

All 4 clinched without having to win the race. Where's the excitement in that?

I would love to see a playoff format similar to what we have in the NFL, MLB and NBA. It could either be in a 4 race (16 cars) or 3 race (8 cars) format. The points would determine the pairings for the playoffs and then thrown out.

In the first race of the playoffs, If it's 16 cars, the pairings would be 1v16, 2v15, etc in a best of 5. There would be no qualifying but each car would have a couple practice runs in each lane. The top ranked car would have lane choice in the first two rounds. The lower ranked car would have lane choice in the 3rd round and if necessary, the 4th round. The top ranked car would have lane choice in the 5th round, if necessary.

Race 2: You now have an 8 car field. Big question here is whether to keep it as a best of 5 or change to a best of 7. The rest would be the same as above. If you go with a best of 7, lane choice would go 2-3-2, just like home field advantage in the other sports.

Race 3: Four car field and definitely switch to a best of 7.

Race 4: Championships.

I think an 8 car playoff series is probably more plausible. You could start with a 10 car field similar to the NFL & MLB wild card format. You would have 7v10 and 8v9 in a best of 3 with the top ranked car getting lane choice in race 1 and 3. The two winning cars would make the top 8.

I doubt this type of playoff format would work within the current national event format, meaning that the sportsman classes would be able to run at national events during the playoffs but I think the excitement this type of format would generate would more than make up for it.

Just imagine if over this past weekend, we would have seen Dixon vs. Schumacher, Force vs. Hagan, and Anderson vs. Edwards in a best of 7 showdown. - Chris Hannan 

 

DISCLAIMER - The views presented in these feedback letters are the opinions of the individual author, and do not necessarily represent those of CompetitionPlus.com, its staff and advertisers.   

 

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