![\"Chase](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/GettyImages-2293711185.jpg\")
\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Chase Elliott credited NASCAR for points system change.<\/p>\n
Chase Elliott backs NASCAR\u2019s<\/a> decision to return to the traditional Chase points format for the 2026 Cup Series champion. After years of criticism for the win-and-you\u2019re-in, elimination-style playoffs, NASCAR returned to The Chase format to determine a champion.<\/p>\n Sixteen drivers made the cut for this year\u2019s Chase and points were reset based on finishing position in the standings at the end of the regular season. The driver who scores the most points in the 10-race Chase will be crowned the champion.<\/p>\n While many within the NASCAR community have already praised the sport for the decision, Elliott<\/a> gave his stamp of approval prior to Sunday\u2019s Chase opener at Darlington Raceway.<\/p>\n Elliott on points format change: \u2018Feels more like us\u2019<\/p>\n In a sit-down interview<\/a> with FOX NASCAR reporter Bob Pockrass, Elliott spoke highly of NASCAR\u2019s points system overall. The driver of the No. 9 believes NASCAR is getting back to its true identity with the return of the Chase.<\/p>\n Based on how the 2026 season has unfolded, the 23-time Cup Series winner believes the NASCAR community realizes that entertainment does not need to be forced, as it was in the past.<\/p>\n \u201cIt feels better. It feels more like us. I think it represents our sport in a more real and raw manner that I think will just reaffirm that we never needed the gimmicks and we never needed the fabricated drama to create a really compelling story,\u201d Elliott said.<\/p>\n Upon reflection, NASCAR\u2019s most popular driver believes the sport will be glad the change was made.<\/p>\n \u201cI think when we look back, we\u2019re going to be really happy that this is how we\u2019re ultimately crowning a champion,\u201d Elliott said.<\/p>\n While the Hendrick Motorsports star is pleased by NASCAR\u2019s decision, he is one who benefited from the previous playoff format. In 2020, Elliott made it to the Round of 8 and won the final two races of the season to earn his first Cup Series championship.<\/p>\n Elliott, however, has been on the wrong end of the format. In 2022, the Dawsonville, Georgia native won the regular season championship and made it to the Championship 4 race, but was unable to come away with the title.<\/p>\n Chase Elliott enters the NASCAR Chase in a slump<\/p>\n As the NASCAR Cup Series Chase begins today (Sunday, September 6) at Darlington Raceway, there is one Chase in the field who hopes to turn things around.<\/p>\n Chase Elliott enters the Chase as the eighth seed, 60 points behind leader Denny Hamlin. Although the 30-year-old has two victories in 2026 at Martinsville and Texas, it has been a rough few weeks for the 2020 champion.<\/p>\n Elliott has one top-10 finish in the last 12 races, which was a fifth-place effort at Richmond. In the last two Cup races, Elliott has failed to finish higher than 23rd.<\/p>\n Elliott rolls off 18th in Sunday night\u2019s Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. He has only one top-10 finish in the last five Darlington races, which was an eighth-place effort in April 2025.<\/p>\n Elliott is seeking his second Cup championship, which would make him the third full-time active driver to have multiple championships, alongside three-time champion Joey Logano and two-time champion Kyle Larson, his HMS teammate.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tJohn Breeden<\/a> John Breeden is a NASCAR contributor at Heavy Sports. He has five years of sports journalism experience. He graduated from James Madison University in May of 2022 with a degree in media arts and design. John is also a sports reporter for the Daily News-Record in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Previously, John was a sports writer for JMU’s The Breeze and a NASCAR content writer for Sportskeeda. More about John Breeden<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Chase Elliott credited NASCAR for points system change. Chase Elliott backs NASCAR\u2019s decision to return to the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":885929,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[446],"tags":[49,48,634,82],"class_list":["post-885928","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nascar","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nascar","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/885928","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=885928"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/885928\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/885929"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=885928"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=885928"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=885928"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}