$65M-worth Denny Hamlin uses Chris Buescher’s disappointment to highlight NASCAR format's impact

Denny Hamlin recently discussed the NASCAR playoff system, referring to Chris Buscher's comments after the race at Darlington. Chase Briscoe won the Cook Out Southern 500, marking his playoff entry in the final regular season race.

The NASCAR playoffs were first introduced in the 2004 season. However, the current version slightly differs with changes made over the years. To qualify for the playoffs, a driver must either win at least one race in the Cup Series regular season or accumulate enough points to rank in the top 16 overall. However, relying solely on points can be risky, as there are typically limited spots available after race winners. For instance, this season, only two drivers qualified for the playoffs without a win.

Denny Hamlin, worth $65 million, talked about this format on the Actions Detrimental podcast after Chris Buescher expressed his disappointment regarding the same after the end of the race.

"I guess in a way that's the beauty of this format that if you can put together one 2:41 race from top to bottom," Jared Allen, his co-host said (at 0:2:41).

Here's what Hamlin said in response:

"It just takes one race, no doubt about it. You kind of heard comments from Buescher afterwards like you know 'we beat these guys all year long, they beat us one race and and now they're in.' I understand but it's what we we uh we signed on for with this format many years ago."

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What did Chris Buscher say about the playoffs system?

RFK Racing's Chris Buescher remained competitive throughout the 2024 Cup Series season. He secured 12 top-10 finishes and came close to multiple victories. Unfortunately, he fell short of qualifying for the playoffs, failing to accumulate enough points to rank in the top 16 and not winning a race.

After finishing P6 in Darlington, Buescher talked about the format of the playoffs, seemingly criticizing the "system."

"Didn't quite get it done again, now we're on the outside looking in," Buescher said. "Unfortunately, it's just the system we're all playing in. We had such a great year. We outran so many of these cars that are going to get to compete for a championship, but that's the system. We didn't work it right."

Briscoe's victory at Darlington secured his place in the playoffs. However, he now finds himself precariously close to the elimination line, along with Harrison Burton, Ty Gibbs, and Martin Truex Jr.