'Expect uncharacteristic errors': Leigh Diffey warns Supercars to learn from NASCAR's mistakes

Leigh Diffey, a lead NASCAR commentator, believes Australia's Supercars will need to learn from the American category's mistakes in their finals format.

Diffey, an Australian broadcaster, has worked with the NBC Sports team since 2014 and is expecting "exhilarating driving" and a "perfect storm" to brew in the Supercars final four.

But he admitted that Supercars would not be making a smart decision to introduce the widely scorned winner-takes-all final race that decides the NASCAR championship.

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The Australian native will descend on Adelaide as a guest but will not be involved in the commentary of the races, although he was asked by Supercars.

"I'm expecting to see fireworks," said Diffey.

"It's going to be exhilarating because it's the first. The drivers have never been in this scenario. This is a different story altogether, especially given the nature of the Adelaide Street Circuit for the grand final.

"I think it could be the perfect storm in a good way, in a positive way, because the drivers won't have felt that kind of pressure before simply because it's new.

"In NASCAR, the only people who get to feel that way are the drivers who have never made it to the championship four.

"These aren't my words; the drivers, and the crew chiefs, and the team owners, and the engineers tell you that it's just a different feeling.

"When it's all on the line, one round and somebody's going to walk out champion and three won't, I'm expecting some uncharacteristic errors because of that pressure."

The pressure of fighting into the top four spots will allow for only a small margin of error from every driver.

Broc FeeneyKai Allen, Cam Waters, Chaz Mostert, Matt Payne, Will Brown and Thomas Randle are the seven drivers fighting to get through to Adelaide in contention for the title.

"I hope to be treated to some excellence, because those big moments command big performances and excellence, and I hope that's what we see," Diffey added.

"I'd love to see excellence win out and ultimately win the championship."

It's hard to look further than Feeney for excellence this season, with 14 pole positions and 12 victories, he leads the championship into Sandown this weekend.

But Mostert looked unbeatable in the Gold Coast, sailing to victory in both races during the weekend.

NASCAR and Supercars crossover

Knockout rounds to decide the championship have long been a decider in the NASCAR Cup Series, but in 2025, Supercars has its debut run of the idea.

Multiple opinions in the paddock have clashed with how they view the format and its ability to create entertaining racing while keeping integral pieces of the category.

Supercars will need to continuously work and iron out any kinks they find along the way.

"I think good on Supercars for trying it," Diffey said. "It's something different."

"The first year is going to be different to next year and the following year."

While the finals format in Supercars and NASCAR share underlying similarities, Supercars will not be taking the winner-takes-all mentality for their final race.

Instead, they will award the winner based on accumulated points in the final three races of the season.

"The general consensus is that the majority don't enjoy having one race that determines it all," Diffey told Fox Sports about the final race in NASCAR.

"There's been plenty of great champions crowned, plenty of great years and moments, but maybe it's had its shelf life, maybe it's lived out a term in this current format.

"NASCAR has been doing it for some 20 years now in a variety of ways, and I think the fan base is just calling for a tweak, not necessarily the abolition of the playoff format but maybe a three-or four-race format in terms of determining the champion."