After months of speculation, NASCAR's new playoff format has been announced at last. It's a return to a previous era, with a few minor tweaks.
"The Chase" is back, and we're not talking about Elliott or Briscoe. Only, it will still have 16 drivers, just as the playoffs did from 2014 to 2025, and the points system has been tweaked so that wins are worth 55 points instead of 40.
NASCAR was so close to getting it right, and yet so far. Here's a recap.
Eliminations and "win and in" gone, but the points system is still broken
Let's start with the positives: getting rid of the multi-round format, and especially getting rid of the winner-take-all Championship 4, is crucial. Additionally, yanking the "win and in" aspect that gave sub-30th place drivers a chance to compete for a title based on one fluke performance is a major plus.
The return of the 10-race Chase forces drivers to think smarter with big-picture racing. There are no more bailouts if you take yourself out in a dumb wreck. There is no more use in trying to win from 15th place on an overtime restart.
Performance throughout the year will also be more heavily rewarded, especially with the 25-point advantage given to the regular season points leader to start the Chase. And the added bonus for wins still sends the message that just hiding out in the back half of the top 10 every week isn't good enough to win a championship.
Still, NASCAR missed a golden opportunity to take even further steps in the right direction. Having 16 drivers in the postseason is still far too many; if we're totally gung-ho on bringing the Chase all the way back, it should have been 10 or 12. Qualifying for it should mean you're truly one of the best of the best.
More importantly, though, it's disappointing that there were no changes made to the points system beyond the added bonus for wins.
Second place matters too. So does third place. So do fourth and fifth. As it stands, an unavoidable DNF will still hurt you more than finishing in any top position beyond a win will help you.
All in all, the new format feels like a half-measure to simply make fans happy by getting rid of what they hated, when what was needed was a total overhaul with an introduction of something entirely new. The Chase is a cool throwback to a more highly regarded era of NASCAR, but with the one-point-per-position system still in effect from second on back, there's only so much it can fix.