Our experts weigh in on four of the biggest questions in motorsports as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to Richmond for the final race of the regular season:
Turn 1: Looking at how many bonus points Martin Truex Jr. has accrued, do you think this playoff format is working, or does it need an adjustment?
Ricky Craven, ESPN NASCAR analyst: It's working to perfection. Martin and the 78 team have earned everything they have. This year is the first time in the playoff era that the regular season has had full meaning. Stage racing has enhanced the product. The one playoff point for winning a stage contributed enormously to the entertainment of this.
Ryan McGee, ESPN.com: It's fine. One of the biggest complaints I heard during the Chase era was that the regular-season champ wasn't rewarded enough for his efforts. That was probably never truer than one year ago, and Truex lost out because of it. So, while we won't really know what worked and what didn't until the playoffs actually happen, this certainly feels better at the moment.
Bob Pockrass, ESPN.com: It works just fine. NASCAR designed the system so a driver with a great regular season such as Truex has the best chance to make it to the championship round. No changes necessary.
Matt Willis, ESPN Stats & Information: I think this playoff format has struck a great balance between rewarding regular-season performance and pushing for late-season performance. It doesn't guarantee Truex a spot in the championship round, but it will probably be enough to ensure that one bad race doesn't cause an early elimination. I want to see the best drivers performing for the championship, but not just give them a ticket there. This strikes a great balance. Last year, if you look at what the "traditional" points would've been entering Homestead, the drivers who were first (Kevin Harvick) and third (Brad Keselowski) weren't among the championship four. This year, we have a better chance of seeing the cream of the crop.
Turn 2: Hendrick Motorsports has picked up a only one top-5 finish in the last seven races, Kasey Kahne's win at Indianapolis. Should Hendrick be concerned?
Craven: Yes, they should be concerned about this. Toyota is the manufacturer of choice as we enter the playoffs. The Toyota camp has the biggest bats in terms of heavy hitters; Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. are at the head of the class. That said, Jimmie Johnson can carry HMS on his back, at least in the first two rounds.
McGee: Absolutely. Now, I will say this. My brief chats with HMS crew chiefs of late indicate they don't feel overly panicked. I think that starts with Chad Knaus, who makes it sound as if they are merely inches away from turning everything around at any moment. But the numbers are what they are. And those numbers, they aren't good.
Pockrass: Yes -- just as anyone not driving a Toyota should have concerns. The Toyotas appear to have more speed than anyone else. The only other Chevrolets with top-5s in that span: Kyle Larson (two), Ryan Newman (two) and Austin Dillon (one).
Willis: I think there is a little reason for concern, because this has been the continuation of a two-year trend. In 2014, Hendrick won 13 of the 36 races. In 2015, that was down to nine, and last year Hendrick had just five wins. This year, it's four wins, and you can argue that the winner didn't have the strongest car in any of them. The reduction in laps led has been stark, just 427 this year (on pace for 615) after having 1,355 last year. From 2011-13, the team averaged more than 2,900 laps led each season. Hendrick has fallen further and further behind the Gibbs/Furniture Row conglomerate.
Turn 3: Are you upset that this will be the last time the elimination race is at Richmond?
Craven: I'm really not affected by that. I would prefer Richmond be in the playoffs, and I'm eager to see how well-supported Indy is next year. The Brickyard 400 will now become the second-most-important race, only to Miami, for several teams. That's intriguing.
McGee: Yes. This has always been the perfect place in the perfect spot. It has provided us with some of the sport's most dramatic nights of the last quarter century. So, naturally, NASCAR bailed on it.
Pockrass: Yes. Richmond is a fun track to watch a race, and while track position certainly plays a role, a driver with a better car can make a pass, even if it takes a little nudge. Restarts also can get crazy. Of course, if Indianapolis -- the 2018 regular-season finale venue -- provides dramatics as it did this year, it might not be so bad.
Willis: I like seeing different tracks in different places in the schedule, but Richmond was a fun location for the high-pressure cutoff race. Outside Brad Keselowski's 2014 domination, this has been a competitive track. In four of the last nine races, the final lead change came in the final five laps.
Turn 4: The NFL season starts this week. Should NASCAR still have 11 races left on its schedule at this time of year?
Craven: Probably not. In fact, you could argue our season should begin in January when football winds down, and end in late September when the NFL is ramping up. I see no end in sight in regards to the NFL's popularity (knowledge and perspective of 11 years at ESPN). It is the premier template or model of success (although I believe preseason should be two games, not four). The schedule and scheduling geography, the history, the tradition and the rivalries are pillars of strength for the NFL. They are impenetrable. We shouldn't fight that headwind forever, but I have no idea how we can shorten the schedule. By the way, we should shorten our schedule -- 36 races is too many, 26 is too few, and 28 should be the max. That's seven months of consecutive racing, no weekends off. And a five-month offseason benefits everyone involved. Only then will teams save "real" money.
McGee: No, no, no and no. So, what I'm saying here is no. #No.
Pockrass: No. But when is a good time to end the season? Ending on Labor Day doesn't seem as realistic and ending in October conflicts with the baseball playoffs and World Series. If NASCAR could work with baseball to make sure there isn't a league championship series or World Series game on the day of its Cup finale, it could look at having a few midweek races in the summer to finish the season three or four weeks earlier.
Willis: You know I love my racing. But, along with many other NASCAR fans, I also love the NFL. And college football. And playoff baseball. It's not so much that there are 11 races left, although I'd still like to see the season end much earlier, but it's that all of those races will be going head-to-head with other high-profile sporting events. How about we run some midweek races during the playoffs? Or how about we have midweek races during the season, sometimes having multiple races per week? Would the teams appreciate the shorter turnaround in return for having an extra month or two of offseason?