The moment that was most hyped up in 2025 is probably just around the corner. Drivers and fans alike in the NASCAR community had been clamoring for a change in the title format for years. Their wishes came to fruition at the end of last year, when the sport’s executives announced that tweaks are underway. Now, all clouds of doubt and speculation over said changes in the NASCAR championship will clear out.
A trailer for the new NASCAR championship format
“@NASCAR says it will announce its new championship format tomorrow, and industry execs are predicting a system that puts a greater emphasis on points earned during the entire season but without going fully back to the traditional formula used before 2004,” Journalist Adam Stern posted on X.
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On Thursday, the sanctioning body stated that the announcement will be made on Monday at 3:30 p.m. during a special “Inside the Race” show. It will be livestreamed from NASCAR’s Concord studios on NASCAR.com, YouTube, and the NASCAR Channel on Tubi and other outlets. But its brief release did not indicate anything about the new format, leaving a few more days for race fans to speculate.
The current playoff format conforms to the 2014 norms, allowing 16 drivers to compete for the title in a 10-race, four-round postseason. The four rounds eliminate drivers on the basis of points, and only the chosen four in the Championship 4 race actually get to compete for a title. This format has been criticized time and again as all-rounders like Kyle Larson in 2024 (6 wins) and Denny Hamlin in 2025 (also 6 trophies) lost the title due to trivial mistakes. Things turned haywire, especially after Joey Logano won the 2024 title with the worst average finish (17.4).
Now, however, fans can look forward to a nostalgic episode. From 1948 to 2004, NASCAR used a full-season points system with no playoffs. And since 2004, a 10-race postseason appeared, allowing the season’s Top 10 point drivers to compete for the title. The field was expanded to 12 drivers in 2007, and the elimination format came in 2014. Now, a mix between the older and newer formats is leaving a lot of hope for fans.
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NASCAR put together an industry committee in 2025 to study the issue ahead of making changes for the 2026 campaign and beyond. The results of that committee’s work will be announced on Monday. Adam Stern believes that the new NASCAR championship format will be closer to the old “Chase” system. It is even possible that the sport could go back to using the old term.
Whatever turns out, a Cup Series competitor is excited to see the sport’s changes.
Gifting brownie points to NASCAR
Well, the sport has been under a lot of scrutiny in 2025. That is especially true due to the NASCAR lawsuit, which pitted two Cup Series teams against the sanctioning body. Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing and Bob Jenkins’ Front Row Motorsports battled for two weeks during the lawsuit’s trial phase. And the evidence revealed hurt NASCAR’s reputation quite a lot, exposing financial truths that have plagued team owners for years.
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So, Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s comments about the upcoming changes to the NASCAR championship format are a fresh change. The Hyak Motorsports driver spoke in favor of the sport’s moves.
“NASCAR’s done a good job collaborating with drivers and teams and trying to come up with the best solution for competition and crowning our champions. So I’ve been through different iterations of the format and the way things have worked.”
He also shed light on his personal expectations for the playoffs and his season-starting motivation.
“And so it’s going to come out on Monday. I assume there’s going to be more points, incentive-type racing. Obviously, you still want to win races and put yourself in the best possible position to be in the playoffs. So, I’m going to start with trying to win the Daytona 500.”
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As the 2026 season rolls into reality, the new playoff format creates more hype. Let’s wait and see how far it caters to drivers’ interests.
The post Insiders Tease Championship Overhaul as NASCAR’s Most Controversial System Faces Long-Awaited Reckoning appeared first on EssentiallySports.
