Richard Petty calls out NASCAR's points system after Shane van Gisbergen's playoff-altering win in Mexico City

The excitement was palpable amongst the fan base that turned out to see the NASCAR Cup Series debut at Mexico City's Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez and compete in the series' first international points-paying race since 1958.

Drivers were forced to race in the rain and the dry throughout the 100-lap event on Sunday, with New Zealand's Shane van Gisbergen emerging victorious by 16.5 seconds over Christopher Bell. Even though that was the largest margin of victory in the NextGen Car (since 2022), that was not what had NASCAR Hall of Famer and seven-time champion Richard Petty upset following the race.

Since 2014, NASCAR has used the win-and-in system that rewards drivers for winning a race. Unless there are more than 16 winners in a season, a win typically gets a driver into the 16-driver postseason field, regardless of how their performance has been for the entire season.

Van Gisbergen entered Sunday's race 33rd in points, with only one top-10 this season that came at the series' only prior stop at a road course at Circuit of The Americas in March. Now, van Gisbergen sits ninth in the playoff standings and presumably locked into the playoffs. That shake-up in points, as well as the fact that it occurred on a road course, is what left Petty frustrated.

Richard Petty puts NASCAR points system on blast after Mexico City

"They got this thing fixed where if you win, you're in. That can't be right," Petty said in a video posted to social media on Monday. "You got somebody that's 30th in points that's going to make the playoffs. What happened to the guy that's 15th, or 16th or 18th (that's) been running good (and) finished good everywhere?"

"You're making a championship situation by winning a road course, which is not really NASCAR to begin with," Petty said. "From that standpoint, I think they're going to have to jockey around and change some stuff."

This is a product of the current playoff system

While Petty makes a valid point about the current playoff system, this is not the first time this scenario has played out. Look no further than Harrison Burton's win at Daytona last August, which vaulted him from 34th in the points to the playoffs.

It is a product of the current system that is in place and has been in place for over a decade now. Unlike the days when the 87-year-old was competing, when drivers were rewarded on a season-long points scale that rewarded consistency, today's drivers are almost certainly guaranteed a playoff spot with a win.

From that standpoint, Petty's argument is one that a lot of fans can probably relate to, especially ones who are familiar with the way the sport worked around that time. Up until the current playoff system was introduced in 2014, a driver's season-long performance still mattered and was a key determining factor in their points position by the end of the year.

A driver's consistency is still rewarded with the regular-season championship, which earns the regular-season champion an additional 15 bonus points to take into the playoffs. That is a nice advantage, especially for a driver that has already accumulated a lot of points. But it does not guarantee anything, especially with four drivers getting eliminated after the third race in each round of the playoffs.

It is also ironic that Petty would mention road courses "not being NASCAR to begin with", considering he made his debut at the most recent international points race in Toronto in 1958. With six races on road or street courses this season, those layouts have become part of the schedule now.

As for the playoff system as a whole, Petty's argument is extremely valid, given where van Gisbergen was in points coming into Mexico City compared to other drivers that had been more consistent around the bubble. However unpopular it might be, though, the current playoff system rewards drivers for winning races, and that is exactly what van Gisbergen did in Mexico City, leaving 10 more opportunities for other drivers to do the same over the summer months.