One of the reasons why NASCAR implemented the four-round, 10-race Championship 4 playoff format back in 2014 is because they wanted to guarantee that each championship battle would come down to the season finale, and they wanted to guarantee a kind of "Game 7" moment.
That goal, in and of itself, was achieved in each and every one of the 12 seasons this particular format was utilized. However, it was not immune to criticism; far from it.
Several drivers who qualified for the Championship 4, and even went on to win the championship, had not necessarily had championship-caliber seasons, and NASCAR was accused of merely manufacturing the title fights each year, placing entertainment over sport.
After Joey Logano won the 2024 title from 15th in the regular season standings and Kyle Larson won the 2025 title due to a controversial yellow with under three laps remaining, two issues that had surfaced on more than a few other occasions dating back to 2014 as well, NASCAR could no longer ward off the complaints.
Changes were made for 2026, five in particular, to effectively bring NASCAR back to a "Chase" format, similar to the one that was used from 2004 to 2013.
The 16-driver playoff field is based strictly on regular season points; there is no more "win and in". Additionally, the postseason is a single 10-race round; there are no more three-race knockouts, and there is no longer a single-race title decider.
Drivers are seeded from No. 1 through No. 16 to start the playoffs, with higher bonuses awarded to the drivers who finished higher up the order in the regular season points table. There are no further points resets beyond that, and at the end of the 10-race Chase, the driver with the most points is to be crowned champion.
And if this format had been used in 2025, there would've actually been six drivers still eligible to win the championship heading into the final race of the season, rather than just four.
Following confirmation of the new format, we went back through the 2025 regular season standings and adjusted each driver's point total. The only change as far as points were concerned, at least during the regular season, is the fact that NASCAR now plans to award 55 points to the winning driver, rather than just 40. No other point values have been adjusted, even for stages.
Based on this scoring system, we then took the top 16 drivers in the standings after the 26th race, reset their point totals according to the pre-playoff bonuses awarded under new Chase format, and then added up their point totals for the first nine playoff races.
What we got heading into the season finale was a wide-open title fight in which there were six possible champions. Here's what the standings would have looked like heading into the 2025 season finale at Phoenix Raceway, had the new format been in place.
Pre-Phoenix 2025 NASCAR standings using the Chase format
Rank | Driver | Points | Behind |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Kyle Larson | 2,415 | (-) |
2 | Christopher Bell | 2,413 | (-2) |
3 | Chase Briscoe | 2,412 | (-3) |
4 | William Byron | 2,403 | (-12) |
5 | Ryan Blaney | 2,371 | (-44) |
6 | Denny Hamlin | 2,365 | (-50) |
Here's what the standings would have looked like after the race.
2025 NASCAR Cup Series standings using the Chase format
Rank | Driver | Points | Behind |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Kyle Larson | 2,462 | (-) |
2 | Christopher Bell | 2,445 | (-17) |
3 | Chase Briscoe | 2,436 | (-26) |
4 | Ryan Blaney | 2,429 | (-33) |
5 | William Byron | 2,425 | (-37) |
6 | Denny Hamlin | 2,414 | (-48) |
Note that the four drivers who actually qualified for the Championship 4 in 2025 – Kyle Larson, Chase Briscoe, William Byron and Denny Hamlin – were not eligible to score stage points at Phoenix.
As a result, we made sure to include the stage points they would have scored in this calculation, since stage racing remains an element of the new format – and that goes for all drivers.
Seeing as how NASCAR's top playoff scorer, up until the season finale, somehow wasn't even one of the four Championship 4 qualifiers, it's not hard to see why this new format fixes some of fans' biggest issues.
Is there still an element of manufacturing a title fight? Sure, if you really want to nitpick and point to the one points reset with 10 weeks to go in the season.
Even still, it's nothing like NASCAR had before, and that's a win for everybody. After several years of complaints, NASCAR finally listened, and because of it, they have potentially set themselves up for a championship battle that they couldn't have dreamed of manufacturing if they tried.
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