Who has benefitted most from the Playoff format?

Implemented in 2004, the Playoff format is one of the most controversial decisions in NASCAR's 70-year history.  It gives non-contenders the ability to win a championship, and frequently takes titles away from deserving drivers.  This format has now had 5 different systems in 15 years.  I've compiled a list of every driver whose final position was effected at least once by the playoffs.  Here is a ranking, from drivers who have benefitted from this system the most (more positive) to drivers who have been hurt the most (more negative.)  Note: Juan Pablo Montoya is included in this list because he made the playoffs in 2009, even though his final rank was never effected by the playoff standings.  The formula I used to calculate a driver's "score" for each year was (Non-Playoff Rank) - (Playoff Rank).  For example, if a driver finished 5th in season-long points but won the title in the playoffs, their score would be +4.  If a driver won the season-long championship but finished 10th in the playoffs, their score would be -9.  A driver with a higher score is generally more lucky in this format, while those with negative numbers are unlucky.

DRIVERS WHO HAVE BENEFITTED FROM THE PLAYOFFS:
1st: Kasey Kahne, +13
2nd (tie): Aric Almirola & Chris Buescher, +12
4th (tie): Denny Hamlin & Kurt Busch, +10
6th: Austin Dillon, +9
7th (tie): A.J. Allmendinger & Ryan Newman, +7
9th: Mark Martin, +6
10th (tie): Chase Elliott & Jeremy Mayfield, +5
12th (tie): Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth & Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., +3
15th (tie): Brian Vickers, Carl Edwards, Elliott Sadler, Jimmie Johnson & Tony Stewart, +1
DRIVERS WHO HAVE NOT BEEN EFFECTED BY THE PLAYOFFS:
20th (tie): Clint Bowyer, Jeff Burton & Juan Pablo Montoya, 0
DRIVERS WHO HAVE BEEN HURT BY THE PLAYOFFS:
23rd (tie): Alex Bowman, Bobby Labonte, Casey Mears, Dale Jarrett, David Reutimann & Ryan Blaney, -1
29th (tie): Danica Patrick, Greg Biffle, Marcos Ambrose, Martin Truex, Jr., Rusty Wallace & Trevor Bayne, -2
35th (tie): Daniel Suarez & Jeff Gordon, -3
37th: Paul Menard, -5
38th: Erik Jones, -6
39th: Joey Logano, -7
40th: Kevin Harvick, -9
41st: Brad Keselowski, -12
42nd: Kyle Larson, -13
43rd: Jamie McMurray, -16
44th: Dale Earnhardt, Jr., -17

The most positions a driver has ever gained from the playoff standings in a single season was 19, when Kyle Busch would've finished 20th in 2015 but instead won the championship.  The most positions a driver has ever lost in a single season was 9, when rookie Kyle Larson would've finished 8th in 2014 but instead missed the playoffs and finished 17th, best of the rest.  The all-time biggest beneficiary of the playoffs, Kasey Kahne, was effected by the system 10 times.  6 of those 10 were positive gains.  Kahne's largest positive gain came in 2012, when he moved from 11th to 4th because of the playoffs.  The all-time biggest loser from the playoffs, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., was effected by the system 8 times.  5 of those 8 were negative.  His largest negative result came in 2015, when he moved from 4th to 12th as a result of the playoff format.

The worst-ever full-season finish for a playoff champion was Kyle Busch's 20th-place finish in 2015.  The worst-ever playoff finish for a full-season champion was the next season, when full-season winner Kevin Harvick finished 8th in the playoffs.

6 drivers have never recorded a negative score: Chris Buescher (1 year), Mark Martin (4), Chase Elliott (3), Jeremy Mayfield (2), Elliott Sadler (1) & Juan Pablo Montoya (1).

14 drivers have never recorded a positive score: Juan Pablo Montoya (1 year), Alex Bowman (1), Bobby Labonte (1), Casey Mears (1), Dale Jarrett (1), David Reutimann (1), Danica Patrick (1), Marcos Ambrose (1), Rusty Wallace (1), Trevor Bayne (1), Daniel Suarez (1), Paul Menard (3), Erik Jones (2) & Jamie McMurray (5).

Jimmie Johnson has the most seasons in which he finished in the same position in both the playoff standings and the full-season standings, with 6: 2004 (2nd), 2006 (1st), 2009 (1st), 2012 (3rd), 2013 (1st) & 2018 (14th).  Also of note, Matt Kenseth finished in the same spot in both the full-season standings and the playoff standings 5 times, including the first 4 years of the playoff system (2004-2007).

Biggest gain each season:
2004: Jeremy Mayfield, +5
2005: Carl Edwards, +3
2006: Denny Hamlin & Kyle Busch, +2
2007: Clint Bowyer, +5
2008: Clint Bowyer, +4
2009: Brian Vickers, +4
2010: Greg Biffle, +5
2011: Denny Hamlin & Brad Keselowski, +5
2012: Kasey Kahne, +7
2013: Kasey Kahne, Jeff Gordon, Ryan Newman & Joey Logano, +2
2014: Denny Hamlin, +10
2015: Kyle Busch, +19
2016: Chris Buescher, +12
2017: Austin Dillon, +8
2018: Aric Almirola, +7

Biggest loss each season:
2004: Jamie McMurray, -5
2005: Jimmie Johnson & Rusty Wallace, -2
2006: Tony Stewart, -7
2007: Denny Hamlin, -7
2008: Kyle Busch, -7
2009: Kyle Busch, -4
2010: Jeff Gordon, -4
2011: Kyle Busch, -5
2012: Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch, Greg Biffle & Martin Truex, Jr., -3
2013: Carl Edwards, -7
2014: Kyle Larson, -9
2015: Dale Earnhardt, Jr., -8
2016: Brad Keselowski, -8
2017: Joey Logano, -6
2018: Kyle Busch & Clint Bowyer, -3

The year with the lowest amount of change between positions was 2005, when there were only 9 total position changes among 4 drivers.
The year with the highest amount of change between positions was 2014, when there were 100 total positions changes among 23 drivers.
The driver who has had the most position changes (whether positive or negative) as a result of the playoffs is Kyle Busch, with 51.  He leads 2nd-place Denny Hamlin by 19 positions.

I hope y'all enjoyed this bit of data analysis here.  What are your thoughts on the playoff format?  Should NASCAR keep it?  If so, should they use the current system, one of the old systems, or a new system entirely?