NASCAR finally announced its long-awaited points format for the 2026 season and beyond at a press conference Monday afternoon.
The “playoffs” are no more, and “The Chase Is Back”. This means that the elimination format is no more, and gone with it is the ability to win a single race to lock your team into the 10-race postseason.
Instead the 16 spots in “The Chase” will be determined by points alone.
In addition to that change, winners of each race will be awarded 15 more points than in the previous format, which NASCAR hopes will put a bigger emphasis on not only winning marquee events but also rewarding those who run up front early and often over the course of the season.
Under this revised format, the field will be set as follows for the 10-race Chase: The regular-season champion will start with 2,100 points. The second-place driver will start with 2,075 points, third at 2,065 points, fourth at 2,060 points, fifth at 2,055 points and so on with five points separating each driver in the regular-season standings all the way down to the 16th and final driver starting at 2000 points.
Along with NASCAR president Steve O’Donnell, there were several people in attendance at the press conference who spoke to the media. Two Hall of Fame drivers in Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. as well as current drivers Chase Elliott, Chase Briscoe, and Ryan Blaney.
“This is the most perfect compromise that you could ever ask for,” Martin said at the press conference that was live-streamed on YouTube. “It’s going to require our 2026 champion to be lightning fast and incredibly consistent, and that’s what we can all get behind.”
“So I’m really excited. I think it’s fantastic.”
Martin noted that driver and sponsor contracts already have incentives for making the postseason, and this format alleviates any of those concerns.
Steve O’Donnell also spoke to this format being an effort to strike a balance between racing fans that are more traditionalist or “purist” as well as the newer fanbase who really likes the playoffs
“There are a lot of vocal fans on social media,” O’Donnell said. “Those aren’t all of our fans, and there are a lot of fans who like playoffs or liked a playoff format as well. So we felt like this was a great balance, and it’s simple.”
This format comes as NASCAR is making efforts to rehabilitate its image post lawsuit, with the exit of now-former commissioner Steve Phelps and a new format more geared towards rewarding driver consistency over winning at the “right time”.
These moves could very well be the start of a path forward for NASCAR to work back some public trust and make the sport better for all parties involved. For more details you can watch the entire announcement here.
(Top Photo Credit: The Daily Herald)
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