Retrospective: How 10 years of elimination-style playoffs set NASCAR on its current course

“Shocked” was how Jimmie Johnson described it. In the wintertime before the 2014 season, he’d received a phone call from then-NASCAR chairman Brian France. Johnson’s sixth reign as Cup Series champion was barely two months old, but the way that he’d pursue title No. 7 was about to change. France walked him through the details […]