@nascarcasm: What’s the best method for filling out a playoff grid?

You sit there, staring at your blank playoff grid. You agonize over which driver is making it to the next round, and which is facing elimination. It’s hard, especially in a season with as much parity as this one. So what we’re doing is filling out several grids, using several different methods. When the playoffs conclude, we’ll revisit and see which method was the most effective.

“Straight chalk” means simply going with the favorites. So in each round, we simply lopped off the bottom four. Of course, this means Ross Chastain somehow makes it to the Championship 4 without someone exacting revenge.

Here, we use the most laps led during the 2022 regular season. Interesting to see Kyle Busch in the Championship 4, no? He had the fourth most laps led this season with 469. And yet he only has one win. And that was the Bristol Dirt Race, where he led only one lap. This method also gets winless Ryan Blaney to the Round of 8. I’m digging the slight bit of randomness here.

The more methods we use, the more we realize 1.) How dominant Chase Elliott was this season, and 2.) How random the rest of the field was. Case in point, had Martin Truex Jr. earned a spot in the playoffs, he’d be through to the championship race with his second-best average finish of 13.2. This method also gets good pals Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott battling for the championship. They’re good friends. This may have been mentioned before.

FINALLY, a method where Chase Elliott doesn’t sail directly to the championship! Larson’s 8.1 average start puts him at the top of this category, and also leads to a youthful Championship 4. It’s “youthful” if Kyle Larson is the grizzled veteran amongst the four.

Yes, highly unlikely, but if anything, this method at least makes us keenly aware that we have more than enough drivers that have a name that starts with “B.” We don’t need any more. If your last name starts with B, I dunno, have Dale Earnhardt Jr. give you a new name.

The universe is at times bizarre. Sometimes the planets align and unexpected numerical anomalies occur. Should drivers be eliminated and/or advance in perfect numerical order, Ross Chastain would be your champion. Of course, this is the universe in which Denny Hamlin lives, so this is arguably unlikely.

Here, we simply order them by who won their first race of this season. This method eliminates Chase Elliott after the Round of 12, which I really, really don’t think is going to happen. Regardless, Austin Cindric, you lucky son of a gun.

STEP ASIDE, MILLENNIALS, WITH YOUR EDM AND YOUR TIKTOKS AND WHAT NOT. Here, we respect the elders, and Harvick sails through to the championship. Also what planet are we living on where Austin Dillon is the fourth oldest in the field? (Begins shopping for teeth)

Here, we’re going by driver rating. What is driver rating? It’s an average that combines several different statistical categories. This means it involves math, and I’m really bad at math. I had to take finite math twice in college and barely managed a C. Bui I digress – once again, it illustrates Chase Elliott’s dominance this season, and he wins the championship.

1. Find web site that randomizes a list of entries. 2. Enter driver names in. 3. Randomize. 4. Watch this one become the most accurate.

When all else fails, if you really want the most accurate grid possible — just give up and have a 5-year-old fill it out.