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Kevin Harvick and Mamba Smith had an interesting conversation about the future of the NASCAR playoffs. On Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour, Harvick and Smith debated the value of the NASCAR playoff format. “In every other form of sport, when an underdog beats a titan, everyone is so freaking excited,” Mamba Smith said. “That’s what this country is built on.” Smith was referring to NASCAR fans getting angry for a lower-seeded playoff driver winning the championship. Havick qucikly repsonded, saying that NASCAR is much different than other sports for one big reason. “You got to remember in sports, they don’t play each other every week,” Kevin Harvick said. “You all have an even chance against each other every week to gain as many points as possible. I think the sample size of what we have is much different than other sports. I think that you have good teams, and you have bad teams, but I just don’t understand how you crown a champion that may not even win a race.” Harvick went on to say he doesn’t like that one race determines a champion, something that Smith agrees with. What bothers Smith is people having an issue with the postseason as he likes how it impacts the drivers and their menality. Mamba Smith and Kevin Harvick discuss playoff expansion Smith and Harvick then discussed the playoff formats of other sports and how some sports expanded their postseason for multiple reasons. When it comes to NASCAR, Harvick said, “We added playoff spots, too, when certain drivers didn’t get into the playoffs. We made the playoff field bigger. “What I’m saying is it’s not going to be even for everybody. We have tried to make everything as fair as possible for everybody, and the same teams have risen back to the top. It’s never going to be fair for everybody. I don’t want to see everybody win.” When it comes down to it, Smith wants to see the driver who outlasts everyone in the postseason to win the championship, while Harvick is all about seeing the best driver/team winning it all. The conversation began when they were talking about the Truck Series championship, but this applies to all three national series of NASCAR. The Cup Series will not have any underdogs competing for a title, as Denny Hamlin, Chase Briscoe, Kyle Larson, and William Byron are the four who will be up for a championship on Sunday. All four have won multiple races this year, and all except Briscoe have previously competed in the championship race.
