Kyle Petty responded to Chris Buescher’s criticism of the playoffs, claiming that everyone knew from the beginning of the season what the playoff system was.

Controversy erupted after the Southern 500, where Chase Briscoe secured the win but Chris Buescher lost his spot in the NASCAR Playoffs. Buescher’s comments after the race sparked debate after he addressed his team’s performance and criticized the playoff system.

“Yeah, just, um, I don’t know,” he said during an interview on Pit Road. “I feel like we did what we mostly needed to do today. We got back in contention at the end and had a decent finish.

“We just, um, failed to do it again and now we’re on the outside looking in,” Buescher said. “Unfortunately, that’s just the system we all play in.

“We had such a great year, everyone at RFK works so hard. We were so fast, we passed so many cars that will be fighting for the championship, but that’s the system and we didn’t work well.”

Petty, a veteran of the NASCAR racing world, did not mince his words in his post-race analysis.

He accused Buescher of being “bitter” about not making the play-offs, pointing out that all the drivers were well aware of the system when the season started in February.

Petty said:

“Sour grapes. They started in February and they knew what the system was. You know what the stage points are; you know what you have to do to come out on top and win.

“They ran well, but they didn’t win any races,” Petty explained.

Despite a strong season and consistently passing many of the cars heading into the playoffs, Buescher found himself on the outside looking in. It wasn’t an isolated incident. Other drivers, including Bubba Wallace, Ross Chastain and Kyle Busch, who have more points than some of the playoff qualifiers, also fell short.

The play-off system, such as it is, involves a mix of consistency of results and key victories. Most drivers entering the play-offs consistently finish in the top 20 in points, which to some extent shows the self-regulating nature of the system. However, it raises questions about possible changes to ensure that the best performing drivers have a chance to compete, regardless of the occasional lapse in strategy or luck.

What do you think? Let me know in the comments below.

NASCAR Cup Series: Cook Out Southern 500 Results at Darlington Raceway

1. Chase Elliott – Action
2. Ryan Preece – Action
3. Austin Cinderric – Action
4. Brad Keselowski – Action
5. Austin Dillon – Action
6. Bubba Wallace – Action
7. Todd Gilliland – Action
8. Daniel Suarez – Action
9. Alex Bowman – Action
10. You Gibbs – Action
11. Harrison Burton – Action
12. Ricky Stenhouse Jr – Action
13. Zane Smith – Action
14. Eric Jones – Action
15. John H. Nemechek – Action
16. Shane Van Gisbergen – Action
17. Justin Haley – Action
18. Michael McDowell – Action
19. Daniel Hemric – Action
20. William Byron – Accident
21. Josh Berry – Accident
22. Noah Gragson – Accident
23. Carson Hocevar – Accident
24. Kaz Grala – Action
25. Timmy Hill – Steering system
26. Martin Truex Jr – Accident
27. Ryan Blaney – Accident