In addition to abolishing the much-maligned playoff and championship format that had been in place from 2014 to 2025, NASCAR slightly modified the points format to compensate for the fact that this year's postseason, once again known as the "Chase" like it was from 2004 to 2013, has gotten rid of the "win and in" system.
In previous years, the 16 playoff drivers were the regular season champion and the 15 drivers who ranked highest in wins. So while it technically wasn't a true "win and in" system, there were never more than 16 winners in 26 regular season races, and the only times winners didn't actually qualify for the postseason was if their victories were encumbered or they weren't a full-time Cup Series driver.
Think Joey Logano at Richmond Raceway in 2017, A.J. Allmendinger at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course in 2021, or Austin Dillon at Richmond in 2024. All of those drivers won, but none of them made the playoffs those years.
Before the 2023 season, NASCAR even removed a rule stating that a winner needed to be in the top 30 in the standings to qualify for the playoffs a few years ago. Harrison Burton took advantage in 2024, winning at Daytona International Speedway from 34th in the standings to secure a playoff spot.
But in 2026, wins don't automatically lock drivers into the playoffs, so Daytona 500 winner Tyler Reddick has not punched his postseason ticket simply because he won the season-opening "Great American Race".
NASCAR adds value to race wins, and it's already making a difference
However, NASCAR now awards 15 extra points to race winners, and because none of the other point values were changed, those 15 points are why Reddick is currently the points leader, as well as the provisional No. 1 seed in the 16-driver Chase field.
Reddick is sitting at 58 points after the first race on the 26-race regular season schedule. He earned 55 points with his victory, a win that previously would have been worth only 40, and he had scored three points with an eighth place finish in the second stage.
Team Penske's Joey Logano would have been the points leader under the old format. And Reddick, quite frankly, wouldn't even be alone in second; he'd be tied for it.
Logano scored 10 points by winning one of the two America 250 Florida Duel qualifying races, added two with a ninth place finish in the second stage, and scored 34 more with his third place finish in the Daytona 500 itself, bringing him to 46.
Reddick would be tied with Hendrick Motorsports' Chase Elliott, who finished fourth to score 33 points. Elliott scored 10 by winning the other Duel qualifying race, taking him to 43.
Given the fact that the 16 playoff seeds are set to be determined strictly by points, it's pretty clear early on that winning still matters, and it still matters a lot, even without a "win and in" approach to determine the 16 championship challengers for the 10-race Chase at the end of the regular season.
Yes, points are still paid out to the top 10 finishers in each stage, meaning that drivers are effectively rewarded for running well during a race, rather than strictly at the end of it, but it's also worth noting that a race winner can now finish no lower than tied for the lead in total points scored during a race, thanks to those 15 extra points.
Under the old format, a race winner could have finished as low as 11th in total points, while the 16th place finisher could have led all drivers in points, two scenarios that made absolutely no sense.
EchoPark Speedway, formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway, is scheduled to host the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season's second race on Sunday, February 22. The Autotrader 400 is set to air live on Fox starting at 3:00 p.m. ET, so start a free trial of FuboTV today and don't miss it!