What more could you want from NASCAR playoffs? Nothing at all
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Ryan McGee, ESPN Senior Writer
The 2024 NASCAR playoffs are finally here. As the green flag looms at Atlanta Motor Speedway, one question dominates my brain.
What more could you want?
OK, you back there with your hand raised and your threadbare 1998 NASCAR 50th anniversary Chase Authentics T-shirt on, I know what you’re going to say. I want the old championship format back, from when men were men and stock cars were really stock and we determined a champion by nothing more than adding up points!
First, let’s be honest here. The old format wasn’t awesome. Yes, every now and then it was, but there’s a reason we still talk about Alan Kulwicki edging out Bill Elliott in 1992 and Darrell Waltrip upsetting Elliott in 1985 and Richard Petty schooling a much younger DW in 1979. Because most of the other title bouts weren’t bouts at all. Trust me, I was born in Rockingham, and I’ve lost count of the number of times we saw a team celebrating the clinching of a Cup title at The Rock, usually very early in the race — and there were still two whole races left to run!
Second, the old format was last used in 2003. That was four years before the introduction of the iPhone. Beyoncé had just gone solo. Ty Gibbs had just celebrated his first birthday. That system debuted in 1975 and lasted 27 years. The Chase/playoffs era is in its 21st year, so asking for the old system back is like demanding the return of asbestos paneling and downloading songs off of LimeWire. It’s not coming back.
Third, stock cars haven’t been stock since, I dunno, 1966? If ever? Sorry, but it’s true.
And fourthly, can we stop with this idea that today’s racers aren’t tough enough? Martin Truex Jr. grew up being tossed around in the Atlantic while hoisting up gigantic nets full of sea creatures. Daniel Suárez just piloted an exploding fireball down the pit lane at Daytona. Kyle Larson has walked away from more god-awful crashes than Ryan Gosling in “The Fall Guy.” Is that Dale Earnhardt driving bulldozers or Curtis Turner and Joe Weatherly banging airplane wings as they raced to the next track? No, but that’s not fair. That’s like comparing the people who build houses now to the ones who built the pyramids. Also, bad news: I miss Dale, too, but he isn’t coming back, and neither is Pops or the Clown Prince of Racing.
So, instead of bemoaning what we don’t have, how about taking a moment to revel in what we do have? Because that is a smorgasbord of storylines, drama and a collection of racing talent that spans multiple generations.
You want old-school cool? Start with Truex, he who was handpicked by the Chosen One, Dale Jr., more than two decades ago to be the face of his new race team and future teammate at Dale Earnhardt Inc. He’s 44 now and will hang up his full-time NASCAR helmet at season’s end. He damn nearly squandered his playoff spot at the Darlington regular-season finale but still squeezed into the field to set up an into-the-sunset run at a second Cup Series title, a fitting final twist for a career that he has twice saved from the brink of extinction.
.@MartinTruex_Jr has one goal: Walk off as a two-time Cup Series champion. 🏆 pic.twitter.com/oEJdVsEwct
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) June 15, 2024
The Clam Prince of New Jersey is joined by two other quadragenarians, 44-year-old Denny Hamlin, seeking to finally shed his “Greatest ever to never win the Cup?” shadow, and 40-year-old Brad Keselowski, who has led a revolution that many thought was impossible, the turning around of the team formerly known as Roush Racing. BK’s lone title came back in 2012. A dozen-year title comeback would match Terry Labonte’s 1984 and 1996 Cups for longest span between a driver’s two titles.
You want top-of-their-game modern legends? Look no further than Larson, the No. 1 seed, who seeks his second Cup in four seasons, here in the same season in which he has already won Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year. Then there’s his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott, also eyeing his second Cup while he completes his comeback from a disastrous 2023. Ryan Blaney is the defending Cup champ. They are joined by old foe and Blaney’s Penske teammate Joey Logano, who hasn’t missed the postseason field since 2017 and hopes to make a record sixth Championship Four in November. If not for his unbelievable five-overtime win at Nashville, the Artist Formerly Known as Sliced Bread wouldn’t be in line for any of that.
You want scrappy youngsters with ties to racing names you already know who literally raced their way into this postseason? Look no further than Austin Cindric, son of legendary Penske executive Tim Cindric, who finally backed up his 2022 Daytona 500 win with a trophy in St. Louis after teammate Logano ran out of gas in sight of the finish line. Then there’s the past two weeks alone. Harrison Burton, son of Jeff and driver of the iconic Wood Brothers Ford, earned his first win and his team’s 100th at Daytona to earn a playoff spot. Then, just last weekend, Chase Briscoe held off Kyle Busch, who also needed the win to get in, to take the iconic Southern 500. That ensured that his team, co-owned by Tony Stewart, will have a shot at the title before it closes its doors at season’s end. And then there’s Gibbs, grandson of Joe, and one of only two drivers to make the field not via a race win but by consistency (Truex is the other) and desperately seeks his first win to hush those who still say he is only in his ride because of his last name.
You want sleeper picks who actually aren’t sleeper picks? How about Larson and Elliott’s fellow Hendrick Motorsports pilots William Byron and Alex Bowman? Both enter the postseason hoping they had more momentum, but are making their fifth and sixth playoff appearances, respectively. Meanwhile, Christopher Bell continues to be the racer people seem to forget. The Norman, Oklahoma, native has been inconsistent at best — his three wins is second best on the year but his six DNFs is second worst among drivers who started all 36 races — but not only is he in the postseason for third consecutive year but he made the Championship Four in his first two appearances.
“Being under the radar is OK, but only for a while,” Bell, 29, said earlier this year. “I guess the only way to be on the radar is to win the whole thing. That’s my plan.”
Speaking of winning the whole thing, do you want someone who drives for maybe the all-time embodiment for winning the whole thing? How about Tyler Reddick, who won the regular season title by driving the wheels off of his No. 45 Jumpman Toyota that is co-owned by, yes, the Jumpman himself, Michael Jordan? Reddick battled through flu-like symptoms to clinch the title, which reminded a lot of folks of something the boss did back in the 1997 NBA Finals.
You want all of the above? Then take Suárez. At 32, he’s not exactly old, but he’s not young, either. Like Truex, his career appeared to be stalled, but he has revived it. Like Reddick, he drives a car co-owned by a crossover superstar who is legitimately committed to the task, Mr. Worldwide himself, Pitbull. Like those who had to race their way in and also have ties to motorsports royalty, way back in February he earned his second career victory with a three-wide, .003-second photo finish at Atlanta, the track where the postseason begins this weekend. Earlier this summer he married Julia Piquet, daughter of three-time Formula One world champ Nelson Piquet.
So, I have written all of the above in order to write one more sentence. The answer to the question that we started with. What more could you want from the 2024 NASCAR playoffs?
Nothing at all. Racers, start your postseasons.
AMES, Iowa — No. 14 Iowa State‘s secondary will be without longtime starters Jontez Williams and Jeremiah Cooper for the rest of the season because of knee injuries.
Coach Matt Campbell announced Tuesday that Williams damaged the ACL in his right knee late in the Cyclones’ 39-14 win over Arizona on Saturday. Cooper tore his ACL in practice last week. The two have combined for 55 starts.
Williams, an Associated Press All-Big 12 second-team pick in 2024, had one interception and two pass breakups this season. He was hurt with three minutes left against Arizona as he dove in an attempt to knock a ball away from a receiver.
“So that’s a situation that really stinks for the kid,” Campbell said. “But man, just how he’s handled it has been uber impressive. And a great human. He’ll be back ready to rock and roll next year.”
Cooper has made 36 starts since 2022 and was an AP All-Big 12 first-team pick at safety in 2023. He switched to cornerback full time this season and had an interception and three pass breakups through four games.
Tre Bell, a transfer from Lindenwood, made his first start for the Cyclones in Cooper’s place against Arizona. Quentin Taylor Jr., who played 26 snaps against Arizona, would be in line to make his first start when the Cyclones (5-0, 2-0 Big 12) visit Cincinnati (3-1, 1-0) on Saturday.
Inspirational thought of the week:
I hear your laugh
And look up smiling at you
I run and run
Past the pumpkin patch
And the tractor rides
Look now, the sky is gold
I hug your legs
And fall asleep on the way home
I don’t know why all the trees change in the fall
But I know you’re not scared of anything at all
— “The Best Day,” Taylor Swift
Here at Bottom 10 Headquarters, located beneath the pile of regret RSVP cards at Rece Davis’ house because his daughter scheduled a fall wedding, now that October has arrived, we know exactly where you will all have been this week. Standing in line with us, waiting for the store to open at midnight Oct. 3 to sell us the first copies of Tay-Tay’s new album, “The Life of a Showgirl.”
Yes, this week the World’s Most Famous Chiefs Fan Not Named Ant-Man drops her new batch of songs, but we also know that as the Bottom 10 faithful camp out on the sidewalk, they will be listening to another playlist of sweet tunes. I’m speaking of the fight songs of Sam Houston, We Have a Problem on Thursday night. Then, the Charlotte 1-and-3’ers, San No-sé State and Colora-duh State on Friday night. All programs that are in their own “Era” of writing “Bottom 10’s Version” of their “Reputation” for “Evermore.”
And while we watch those games, at some point we will realize that it isn’t “1989” and we no longer have to be in line to buy a new record. Or buy records at all. We can download them to our phones. Or as we call them here in the B10CU, the Bottom 10 Cinematic Universe, our pocket computers.
With apologies to the Taylor University Trojans, former Nebraska wide receiver Nate Swift and Steve Harvey, here are the post-Week 5 Bottom 10 rankings.
The Bearkats kruised through their skheduled open date and now koncentrate on krossing the Rio Grande for a kontest kounter to New Mexiko State, who were just konquered by New Mexiko in Albukuerkue.
Have you seen that meme of Cookie Monster drumming his fingers on the table, impatiently waiting to go bonkers on a yet-to-arrive tray of cookies? Yeah, that’s us, waiting for the Oct. 11 Pillow Fight of the Week of the Year of the Century Mega Bowl, when the Minutemen travel to face State of Kent, who are 1-3 after taking the week off. But before that, UMass hosts Western Not Eastern Michigan, while Kent will be getting run over by the Sooner Schooner like a snake trying to cross an Oklahoma freeway.
In Westwood, they said bye to their coach, then they had a bye week, then they lost at Bottom 10 Wait Listers Northworstern, then they raced USC back to Los Angeles, both wondering why they said bye to having all those games closer to home in the league they said bye to too.
Speaking of the Artist Formerly Known But Soon To Be Known Again As The Pac-12, the Beavers became the nation’s first five-loss team after a near-win over undefeated Houston Not Sam Houston. Now they travel east to face Appalachian State in Boone, North Carolina, where I once camped with the Boy Scouts and had all of our food stolen by actual beavers.
There are those who might try to convince you that Penn State’s White Out didn’t work the night they played Oregon, but it did. Watch James Franklin’s postgame news conference when he was asked about his record against top-10 teams. He totally used virtual Wite-Out to paint over the word “narrative” and change it to “factual.”
I was roasted over mesquite, and rightfully so, for omitting Oklahoma State from these rankings one week ago after it lost to Living On Tulsa Time at home and then fired Mike “I’m a man! I’m 58!” Gundy. It was a mistake. I was in denial. But I was snapped out of that trance of disbelief by all of the DMs and texts from Stillwater phone numbers saying that I had to have Oklahoma State in here this week or lose all credibility, including one from what my caller ID listed as “Gundy, M.”
The Spartans Not Trojans are one of a whopping four Mountain West teams stuck at 1-3, but won, er, lost out for this spot over the other three because: A. They actually played a game last weekend; 3. They lost the Pillow Fight of the Week to neighbor and fellow Bottom 10 Waiting Lister Stanfird by one point; and fifthly, they can probably sneak up on New Mexico this weekend because the Lobos have spent all week with upset tummies after spending a week eating from college football’s new greatest rivalry trophy, the Chile Roaster.
I feel very strongly that we as a nation aren’t making a big enough deal out of this new chile roaster trophy for New Mexico-New Mexico State. pic.twitter.com/ls0s5X1ETA
— Ryan McGee (@ESPNMcGee) September 28, 2025
The Other Other Huskies are one of a whopping six #MACtion team stuck at 1-and-something, but won, er, lost out for this spot over the other five because: 1. They actually played a game last weekend; C. They lost to San Diego State, which isn’t terrible, but the final score of the game was 6-3; and secondly, we wanted a chance to hype this week’s Pillow Fight of the Week, when they host My Hammy of Ohio, which is now 1-3 after beating Lindenwood, a school you’ve never heard of unless you are a big Pierre Desir fan.
The Red Wolves are one of a not-as-whopping but still not small three Fun Belt teams stuck at 1-and-something, but won, er, lost out for this spot over the other two because: I. They actually played last weekend; IV. They lost to our old friends and former Bottom 10 stalwart ULM (pronounced “uhlm”); and XL. That Week 2 loss to now-head coach-less Arkansaw by 42 points is aging about as well as that bottle of gas station chardonnay that I accidentally left under the seat of my truck all summer.
My hometown team is one of a totally-not-whopping-but-still-seems-like-a-lot-for-one-conference-after-only-one-month-of-football three Just American teams stuck at 1-and-something, but won, er … OK, yeah … I’m tired of this bit too. Almost as tired as the Niners fans will be of watching US(not C)F run up and down the field on Friday night. The good news? Shortly after the game ends, they can ease their pain by listening to Tay’s new album.
Waiting list: State of Kent, UTEPid, Muddled Tennessee State, Northworstern, FA(not I)U, Bah-stan Cawledge, Clempson, Flori-duh, Georgia State Not Southern, Colora-duh State, No-vada, Stanfird, My Hammy of Ohio, South Alabama Redundancies, Give Me Liberty Or Give Me 1-4, Akronmonious, Baller State, a college football world without Sam Pittman in it.
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