“Tyler Reddick is a good example,” Harris said. “Got off to a phenomenal start, big lead in the points and winning a lot of races. Their team has cooled as the season has gone on, and you’ve had guys like Denny Hamlin that have come in and won some races in the middle part of the season, has run consistently and now has the points lead as we enter the (Chase).
“That’s the mixture you need to see. You need to run well, possibly win a couple of these races and also avoid those bad finishes – those 30-plus-place finishes.”
Harris went on to say he believes the new format combines the best of what NASCAR fans have been clamoring for the last few years.
“It rewards consistency and it also rewards wins, which I think are the two biggest things our fans have wanted to get back to,” he said.
Reddick won the Goodyear 400 at Darlington in March, and Hamlin has five career Cup Series victories there.
But all eyes will likely be on Chase Briscoe, who is trying to become the first driver to win three straight Southern 500s since Jeff Gordon won four in a row from 1995-98.
“To look down the list of drivers that have won three Southern 500s as a whole – names like Jeff Gordon and David Pearson and Dale Earnhardt and Cale Yarborough – that’s some of the greatest drivers of our sport.
“To potentially be able to do it with three wins in a row would be quite phenomenal.”