NASCAR's Mike Forde shares update on internal discussions about future of championship format

Mike Forde, NASCAR managing director of racing communications, said on Tuesday’s “Hauler Talk” that discussions are still taking place within NASCAR concerning the future of the championship format. Forde said an announcement as to which format NASCAR uses to determine a champion in 2026 and beyond could come in “two weeks, it could be in two months.” All of it is still to be determined.

“Where it stands right now… I don’t think the playoff committee is going to meet again. I think we have gotten all the feedback that we needed from them. Awesome job, by the way, from the playoff committee. … Now, it’s in NASCAR’s hands,” Forde said. “They’re going to take all the feedback they got from every walk of life and every thought on the spectrum from no playoffs whatsoever to keeping it how it is and really beating that all up. They’re announcements to come. Honestly, I don’t know where it is. It could be in two weeks, it could be in two months.

“We clearly want to make sure that we have been very thorough on this one. Obviously, it will be before Feb. 5 in The Clash, but it could be sooner than later, it could be in January. I don’t know, I don’t think anyone knows just yet. Still discussions to be had on where we are on discussion of the playoff format. I think we feel good about the directions and the possibilities here because of the playoff committee and the work that they’ve done and the feedback we got from the industry.”

The NASCAR championship format: What it is now, what could change in 2026?

NASCAR introduced the current elimination style format in 2014. The 10-race postseason is capped off by a one-race, winner-take-all finale where the highest finisher of the Championship 4 drivers is crowned champion.

NASCAR put together a playoff committee consisting of former drivers, media partners, team owners, manufacturers, track representatives and independent media to determine if the format should change in 2026. Some have argued for a return to the full-season points format, while others are in favor of a revamped 10-race Chase.

What appears clear is that the current format will not continue in its current form. Something will likely change, and it could be the sanctioning body moving on from the one-race finale. NASCAR president Steve O’Donnell addressed why he believes the one-race finale has become unpopular among the fanbase.

NASCAR’s Steve O’Donnell addresses future championship format

“I certainly can’t speak for all the fans, right? I can speak for myself because I’ve said this,” O’Donnell said last month at the State of the Sport address. “One of the concerns is future drivers coming up through the system having multiple wins and not necessarily winning a championship. I think that’s a challenge for our sport and I think where the light really goes on is having that driver be deemed a potential superstar. So, we looked at this, I think we all did. Looking at more moments, more drivers, more drivers having the ability to go out there and win. And that maybe takes away from the one driver story, and you know, it’s probably harder to right, just the one driver story over and over again, but it does create a real star.

“I think that’s something, 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. So, that’s really been the focal point is we want to reward winning, we’re going to continue to do that. Whatever model we come up with, winning is very important. But the one race thing has been a factor of, there’s a lot of circumstances that can happen. Our fans, right or wrong, are different than other stick and ball sports, and that’s OK.”