NASCAR's Steve O'Donnell responds to playoff format backlash, reveals if change is on the table for 2026

The much talked about and debated NASCAR elimination style playoff format has largely stayed status quo since its inception in 2014. In 2017, stage racing and playoff points were introduced — other than that, nothing has changed.

But after Joey Logano‘s victory in the championship race at Phoenix Raceway this past season, in which the Team Penske driver captured his third title with an average finish of 17.1 — the worst for a driver in a championship-winning season — the cries to change the playoff format have been loud. NASCAR even assembled a group consisting of drivers, team owners, manufacturers and media partners to determine if the playoff format should look different next season. 

With the 2025 playoffs soon to be underway, NASCAR is under some pressure to decide what the playoff format will look like next season. NASCAR president Steve O’Donnell told Eric Estepp that they are in the “final processes” of determining what 2026 will look like. O’Donnell mentioned that if they stick to the status quo, “there’s got to be a pretty good explanation as to why.”

NASCAR’s Steve O’Donnell: ‘Don’t have the final answer yet’ on 2026 playoff format

“We are kind of in the final processes,” O’Donnell said. “We’ve tried to talk to as many of the stakeholder groups as possible, we have a couple more of those conversations to have. And I think for us, the decisions are going to be do you immediately put something in the Cup Series? Do you try something around next year’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and the Truck Series? Do you try three different things? Most sports are like, ‘Let’s try this in Triple-A baseball and if it works, great. If we want to tweak it, OK, let’s make those tweaks and put it to the next level.’ We’ve historically not done that. So, we’re just going to try to beat up a lot of those things.

“I will say that if we stay status quo and don’t do anything in all three series, there’s got to be a pretty good explanation as to why and to who we spoke to. But there is some momentum to try some things, for sure. I think you’ll see that. I don’t have the final answer yet, but I can assure the fans there’s been a lot of really good debate, a lot of things to think through.”

O’Donnell revealed he is not on the playoff committee. From what he’s gathered, however, those meetings have been productive. He said that there are three camps — those who can’t stand the playoffs, those who want to make tweaks to it and those who like the way it is. There are a lot of voices in the room, and the challenge for NASCAR is picking the best route to go down.

What are critics saying about the NASCAR playoff format?

Critics of the playoff format will say it doesn’t reward consistency over the course of a 36-race season. The “best” driver isn’t the one who wins the championship at the end of the season. When it comes to the 16-driver postseason field, winning one regular season race grants you entry. Austin Dillon entered Saturday’s race at Richmond Raceway 28th in the points standings and is now playoff bound after his victory there. The same thing happened last year at Daytona International Speedway when Harrison Burton, 34th in the points, took the checkered flag and clinched his playoff spot.

O’Donnell acknowledged there are a lot of different dynamics to balance. Ultimately, they want a champion that “all our fans are proud of in terms of how it was determined.”

“Even last year, Kyle Larson rolling off all the wins he did and [fans were saying] if he’s not in the final four, it’s ridiculous and not a good reflection of it and therefore, you should put more emphasis on the number of wins. OK, fast forward to this year — we’re having discussions about should wins mean a lot more in terms of points,” O’Donnell said. “You take SVG, who I think is a great guy and has great skill, but polarizing, like, woah, should he be treated the same as Kyle Larson, right?

“So, you’ve got to balance a lot of different dynamics of where drivers are winning, what tracks, and take everyone’s name out of it and say, ‘This is the format.’ Ultimately, I can assure you what we want is for the championship and the champion to be someone that all our fans are proud of in terms of how it was determined.”