We hate to say we told you so, but we told you so.
Despite the gushing and fawning over NASCAR's return to the "Chase" postseason format, specifically because of the fact that it ended the much-maligned era of the "win and in", knockout-style setup, there were always going to be complaints no matter how things turned out.
After the first half of the 2026 postseason, we're already starting to see that, and the rose-colored glasses have come off.
NASCAR playoff format complaints took no time at all to come back
Kyle Larson had a bad regular season, so he should already be eliminated, no matter what kind of success he's having in September and October!
He's nowhere near the full-season points lead, so he shouldn't even have a shot to be crowned champion. NASCAR is not a stick and ball sport!
Denny Hamlin had the best regular season and is leading the series in season-long points by a country mile!
Hamlin is the real "champion", and Larson is just a fraud and a Chase merchant!
Right.
Given the propensity of a certain percentage of NASCAR's fanbase to complain about the results under the guise of "it's not genuine" (which usually means "it's not what I wanted"), who could have possibly seen this coming?
NASCAR Chase complaints were totally predictable
First of all, there are still five races left. Hamlin could still win the championship. It's not over yet. I don't know why we're jumping to conclusions (but if we are, doesn't that say something about Larson's performance being championship-worthy? Think about it...).
But the bigger point has to do with the fact that these types of reactions were inevitable, even for as much praise as NASCAR got for going back to the format that many fans supposedly wanted.
Even though some fans surely do prefer one format over another, the broader reality isn't that fans truly have an issue with any given format, and it never was. The reality is that if the result isn't what the fans want, the format is what becomes easiest to blame, even though we all know everybody plays by the same rules.
It can't possibly be the driver's fault or the team's fault, and credit can't possibly go to the driver and team who perform best when it matters most.
When Joey Logano won the 2024 championship, many complained that it was a five-overtime win over the last-place driver in points that got him into the playoffs. Even though he still finished 15th, which would have gotten him into the postseason under a strictly points-based format, that 15th-place finish was used against him.
Nobody said a word when Ryan Blaney won the 2023 title after finishing 13th in the regular season. How many in the "Logano playoff merchant" crowd even know that's where Blaney finished that year?
As for the disqualification that knocked out Alex Bowman and kept Logano alive with four races to go, it's hard to blame anybody other than Hendrick Motorsports and the No. 48 team for that one. Would the complaints have existed had it been somebody other than Logano who was thrown that lifeline?
Certainly nobody complained in 2022, after Blaney got a similar lifeline when Kurt Busch withdrew from the postseason and opened up a spot.
When Larson won the 2025 championship, many complained about just how controversial the race-ending sequence was at Phoenix Raceway, after Hamlin had dominated the race and appeared to be well on his way to winning the title.
We are all aware that Larson led the series in total points, correct? We are all aware that, despite "win and in", Larson worked his way into the championship fight without needing to win a single playoff race, correct?
Of course, had Hamlin actually won the title, we would've heard all about how he only finished fifth in total points and how he "wasn't consistent enough", despite leading the series with six (and it would have been seven) wins.
The point is that there will always be complaints about how NASCAR determines its champions. Even under the Chase format that everybody supposedly adored, those complaints still exist. They were never going to go away completely. There will always be those who allegedly "deserve" the championship more than the one who earns it.
Didn't we learn our lesson about the Chase when Jimmie Johnson won five championships in a row from 2006 to 2010, leading to the complaints that ultimately gave way to "win and in" to begin with?
Didn't we learn our lesson about full-season points when Matt Kenseth won the 2003 championship with just one victory and 11 top five finishes, and with a laps led tally that wasn't even top 10 in the series, while Ryan Newman only finished sixth with his eight wins and 17 top five efforts?
But hey, if you don't like who the champion is, just call him an illegitimate champion on Twitter and hope that you get a lot of reposts and likes and can reignite a debate about NASCAR needing yet another change. That exact cycle generally seems to repeat itself.
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