NASCAR legend and championship format agitator Mark Martin has admitted that existing contracts signed by the series made a 36-race points championship 'complicated'.
Martin has been one of the biggest advocates for a return to the traditional points format over the last year, both publicly and in Playoff Committee meetings.
The Hall of Famer was part of NASCAR's unveiling of its return to the Chase on Monday, enthusiastically describing the format as the 'best possible' outcome after months of discussions.
In Monday's press conference, Martin called the behind-the-scenes mechanics of a format change 'more complicated than our fans realize', appearing to pin the lack of a full season points championship on that fact.
Mark Martin: Chase a great compromise
"I’d like to add a couple of things," he said. "Steve [O'Donnell] won’t say it, but there are contracts, team contracts with sponsors. It’s a lot more complicated than our fans really realize. It’s very complicated.
"We’re really lucky to have gotten what we’ve got here. This is a great compromise, in my eyes. And the jump from 10 to 36 is not nearly as unlikely as from Playoffs to 36. So you never know what happens in the future. He didn’t say that. I did, though."
He also said at the press conference: "I think that it is the best possible scenario that you could have asked for.
"After the second meeting that we had, I was still convinced that we couldn’t even get to this. I am so happy. Everyone wins with this format, everyone. The fans win. They were heard. They win. The drivers, the teams win. NASCAR wins. Everybody wins. You know, you can’t always have everything you want.
"I wanted it all, but I’m sure happy. This is great for our sport."
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