There will be a new playoff format in 2026<\/p>\n
NASCAR\u2019s current playoff system is under fire. <\/p>\n
In the championship race at Phoenix Raceway, Denny Hamlin was cruising toward the race win. A caution with just 4 laps to go sent the race into overtime. After a pit stop, Hamlin lost the lead, the race and the championship.<\/p>\n
Does that feel like a real champion? Or a manufactured show?<\/p>\n
That will be the last time we see that format. The playoffs are changing in 2026 and it\u2019s been confirmed by executives\u2026<\/p>\n
Denny Hamlin knocks the NASCAR playoff system<\/a><\/p>\n Steve O\u2019Donnell<\/p>\n \u201cSomething that as you look at the future of the sport, making sure that a driver who has delivered all season long has the ability to be named a champion and not have something maybe come down to one race. That\u2019s really been the focal point,\u201d NASCAR President Steve O\u2019Donnell said during the NASCAR state of the sport.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to reward winning. We\u2019re going to continue to do that. Whatever model we come up with, winning is very important. The one-race thing has been a factor. There\u2019s a lot of circumstances that can happen.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe looked at this, looking at more moments, more drivers, more drivers having the ability to go out there and win. That maybe takes away from the one-driver story. It\u2019s probably harder to write just the one-driver story over and over again, but it does create a real star.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOur fans, right or wrong, are different than other stick-and-ball sports,\u201d O\u2019Donnell added. \u201cThat\u2019s OK. When the Giants win the Super Bowl, I\u2019m a Giants fan \u2014 nobody questions it. Everyone says, \u2018Giants are Super Bowl champions.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cOur fans don\u2019t do that. That\u2019s been a learning process for us as well.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSteve [Phelps] and I have certainly heard the industry, understand the challenges that are out there,\u201d O\u2019Donnell added. <\/p>\n \u201cSo the goal is to balance some of those moments that we\u2019ve had with the great racing but also deliver a little bit more of I think what the fans and the industry is asking for.\u201d<\/p>\n Dale Earnhardt Jr confirms change to 2026 NASCAR playoff format<\/a><\/p>\n Links<\/p>\n