The “Chase” is on again for NASCAR, which will return to a 10-race postseason format in the Cup series in 2026 featuring 16 drivers battling for the championship as it steers away for the playoff format used the previous 11 years.
The new format announced on Jan. 12 is aimed at rewarding consistency as much as winning. Based on points, the top-16 drivers after a 26-race regular season will advance to the Chase format similar the one introduced 22 years ago. A race win no longer assures a driver will be part of the top-16 at the end of the regular season, but more points will be awarded for winning.
Advertisement
The driver with the most points after the final race of the season on Nov. 8 at Homestead-Miami Speedway will be the champion.
“There were a couple of things that were vitally important,” NASCAR president Steve O’Donnell said. “One was that winning still had to matter. We had to make sure that was a big component of what we were doing. We certainly wanted consistency to matter. Not lost on us throughout what we’ve seen with the current format, there were times when a driver could win and maybe take a couple of races (off) because he had that win in the bank. That’s not something we wanted. We wanted every race to matter.”
GARY BAKER REMEMBERS GREG BIFFLE: What former NASCAR race team owner Gary Baker said on death of Greg Biffle
Winning is still big. A victory will be worth 55 points instead of 40 like in the previous system. Points for all other positions along with stage points remain the same.
Advertisement
The points leader heading into the Chase will receive a 25-point cushion over second place with the points being reset for the 16 top drivers.
Drivers will not be eliminated every three races like before in the playoff.
In the new Cup Series format, there will be a 10-race Chase, nine races for the O’Reilly Series and seven for the Craftsman Truck series with 16 drivers based on points. For the O’Reilly Series, 12 drivers will set the postseason field and 10 in the trucks.
“It has every characteristic that you want in a championship format where winning matters, consistency matters, DNFs are going to matter,” NASCAR Cup driver Chase Briscoe said. “The point swing now with winning, you’re not going to have that win-and-in, but the 15 extra bonus points can take a guy from fourth in the championship all the way to the lead or vice versa.”
Advertisement
The Chase format could change the mindset for some drivers heading into each regular season race, according to 2024 Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney.
“Sometimes we all get grief about over-aggressiveness and things like that, but sometimes you get put in these situations when it’s a win-and-move-on type scenario,” Blaney said. “I think this is going to clean up a lot of the racing side of it and kind of get back tot he purity side of it. I’m a huge fan of it.”
Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on X @MikeOrganWriter.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: NASCAR returns to Chase format: How the 2026 playoff format will work
