After following NASCAR\u2019s lead by adopting a playoff-style championship, the Lucas Oil Dirt Late Model Series committed to that format for three seasons. Now, before NASCAR itself has taken a definitive step toward easing or reworking its own playoff structure, the Dirt Late Model tour has chosen to reverse course.<\/p>\n
The series will return to a traditional points-based championship, a move that Kenny Wallace views as an uncomfortable signal for the sport<\/a>\u2019s top tier. In his eyes, a smaller touring series acting first exposes how stalled NASCAR\u2019s internal progress has become.<\/p>\n The Dirt Late Model Series rolled out its initial playoff experiment in 2023. That version mirrored NASCAR\u2019s finale, ending in a single, winner-take-all championship race featuring four drivers, a format NASCAR has used to decide its titles since 2014.<\/p>\n Over the following two seasons, the structure evolved slightly, retaining a four-driver showdown but spreading the finale across multiple races rather than settling everything in one event.<\/p>\n But that chapter is now closing as Tour director Rick Schwallie confirmed during Saturday\u2019s season-ending banquet, where officials formally declared the return to a full-season points format next year and eventually abandoned the Chase-style system. Schwallie explained that the series experimented with the playoffs in an effort to elevate its profile.<\/p>\n And while he believes that the format did not fail, he concluded that the traditional approach better suits the identity and competitive rhythm of the tour. Wallace, reacting to the decision, framed it as a notable shift in the usual power dynamic between NASCAR and grassroots racing.<\/p>\n He said, \u201cIt\u2019s always been monkey see monkey do business. NASCAR comes up with these ideas and then a lot of the short tracks copy what NASCAR does\u2026 The first time I\u2019ve seen it be the opposite. This is the first time where I\u2019ve seen a short track series say, \u2018Nope, we\u2019re making the move before NASCAR does. We\u2019re going back to normal format next year.’\u201d<\/p>\n He expanded on that thought by praising the Dirt Late Model Series for charting its own path rather than following NASCAR\u2019s blueprint.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, a shout out to the Lucas Oil Dirt late Mile series doing something on their own instead of following what NASCAR does\u2026 That\u2019s how far NASCAR has fallen. That\u2019s how wounded NASCAR is. the short tracks. They\u2019re like, \u2018Man, NASCAR\u2019s in trouble. We\u2019re gonna we\u2019re gonna do our own deal now,\u201d Wallace added.<\/a><\/p>\n