“Win and you’re in needs to go away”: Veteran spotter doubles down on Michael Waltrip’s proposal of all Round of 8 drivers fight for Championship 

NASCAR spotter Brett Griffin recently showered his support for Michael Waltrip’s suggestion to decide the NASCAR Cup Series champion. Griffin went on to add that the “win and you’re in” is detrimental to determining the series champion.

Michael Waltrip recently suggested an alteration to NASCAR’s playoff system. In 2004, the Chase for the Cup was introduced. It was intended to increase competition as it reset the points and restricted the showdown between a select number of drivers during the final championship races. With time, the system was perfected and changed to what exists today: a 16-elimination format involving ten races, where the last four contend for the win.

Although the structure has been effective in creating drama and uncertainty, critics have argued that this structure has often focused on individual race wins at the expense of long-term seasonal reliability. Waltrip accordingly tweeted:

"What if @nascar asked the Round of 8 if they want to race the next 4 races for the championship instead of cutting it to 4 drivers after @MartinsvilleSwy?"

Spotter Brett Griffin, who agrees with Waltrip's idea, said that the "Win and you’re in" rule, which under certain conditions allows race winners to the playoffs, should be scrapped. He spoke of NASCAR rumors that there might be a six-driver final for the 2026 season, but said that he would rather have the championship fight widened to the top 10 teams and spread over eight weeks.

In his opinion, prolonging the championship battle would benefit more stable and worthy competitors rather than putting too much emphasis on race wins for playoff advancement. He replied to Waltrip:

"Supposedly they were leaning 6 drivers over the course of 4 races to race for the championship in 26. While I don’t hate that I’d prefer 10 teams race for it over 8 weeks. Top-10 in points are all solid competitors. Win and you’re in needs to go away."

Michael Waltrip was a professional stock car driver and a two-time Daytona 500 winner, claiming victory in 2001 and 2003. During his career, he competed in the NASCAR Cup Series for 33 years and won four races, while also taking the checkered flag 11 times in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

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Michael Waltrip drops a 4-word reaction to his horrifying crash at Bristol from 35 years ago

Michael Waltrip reflected on his infamous crash at Bristol Motor Speedway from 1990, calling it a "close one" in a recent social media post. The crash, which saw Waltrip’s No. 30 Pontiac slam nearly head-on into the outside wall, left his car in a heap of battered metal and scattered debris. Many, including former driver Mark Martin, feared it was the end for Waltrip, but miraculously, he survived the horrific impact. Reacting to his crash, Waltrip tweeted:

“That was close one! 🙏”

Reflecting on the incident in 2017, Waltrip expressed how terrifying it was, and his brother, Darrell Waltrip, was emotionally relieved that his younger brother survived such a brutal wreck.

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Edited by Riddhiman Sarkar