NASCAR President Brent Dewar talks NASCAR Playoffs, driver council, more

Nine teams. Sixteen drivers. One Monster Energy NASCAR Cup. The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs start now, and the postseason field that resulted from a memorable regular season under an enhanced points structure is one of intrigue. Of the 16 drivers, there are six past champions -- including seven-time champ Jimmie Johnson -- mixed with millennials like Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott. Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing are represented, but so, too, are the resurgent Roush Fenway Racing and Wood Brothers Racing teams. It's a playoffs field with a little bit of everything. "It's really incredible," NASCAR President Brent Dewar told NASCAR.com. "You have a seven-time champion going for history. We also have drivers like Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott, and you see their genuine excitement that they're racing for a championship. And at the other end, Jimmie's excited like a little kid, wanting to win his eighth. "We've worked hard on the competitive balance on the series. The current format is win and advance, and it's gratifying to see the diversity of the organizations that are in, and the number of different types of wins." RELATED: Lifelong love of cars, racing fueled Dewar Some of those wins have been dominant -- top seed Martin Truex Jr. comes to mind, with his performances at Kentucky and Las Vegas. Some have been last-second, like Kurt Busch's last-lap pass to win the Daytona 500, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. swiping the lead from Kyle Busch at Talladega after the white flag dropped. "Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Larson and Kyle Busch had the best regular season, but they still have to perform well in the playoffs," Dewar said. "We think we've landed on a really compelling format that rewards success throughout the regular season. One of the things I love about our teams and our drivers is that they'll adjust and make it even more compelling next year." Other topics Dewar discussed in the NASCAR.com interview include: • The evolving role of the driver council: "The driver council started with a really simple concept: 'Let's fix these things.' Now it's moved into very strategic discussions. When we talked to the drivers last year, they never set out to say, 'Gee, we'd like to have stages.' But we asked them what made them really get up on the wheel and they began talking about the race within the race. The outcome of that was stages." • Evolution of stage racing: "We're happy with the format, but there's no question the race teams are very innovative. There's very much a learned science approach they take to stage racing. I think this year we learned a lot about if the stages are the right length, how does it interact with the tire strategy and the fuel strategy. If anything, those will be the only tweaks. What's a key part of the stage racing is not just the driver, but it's the driver with the crew chief and the driver with the car chief." • The series' first regular-season champion, Martin Truex Jr.: "The drivers said, 'We would like to crown a regular-season champion.' They were concerned a driver could have the most incredible season, but could be eliminated by something outside the driver's control in that first round. It wasn't an easy solve, but we thought about it as an industry and it led to a really exciting, compelling format that rewards success throughout the season." • The role of iRacing: "There's many different pathways to get to the national series. Many drivers will start in go-karting and midgets, and we have a great HomeTracks program across the country. Those are the natural ways people will follow. But it's 2017, and we have an incredible product in iRacing where, with the math data we can pull off the tracks today, you can race just like you can on tracks with some of the same simulation activities. It's a big opportunity for our future." • Drivers having a variety of platforms (social media, radio, podcasts) with which to reach fans: "We want them to have a personality. We don't want them to be robotic. If someone hasn't listened to the Glass Case of Emotion with Ryan (Blaney) and Kim (Coon), it's incredible. It's authentic. It's them.'Happy Hours' on SiriusXM Radio, that's a perfect venue for Kevin Harvick. He's very thoughtful. He's seen the sport from every angle, and he has a sports management company. We think we're onto something really special here."