NASCAR will hold a press conference Monday to unveil the championship format for the 2026 season and beyond.
CONCORD, N.C. — NASCAR will hold a press conference Monday to unveil the championship format for the 2026 season and beyond.
The long-awaited announcement comes after a year of work by a playoff committee NASCAR formed after the 2024 season to come up with a format for the future.
While it's unclear what the format will be, NASCAR President Steve O'Donnell said during November's State of the Sport address that the one-race championship was likely dead.
"I think that’s something 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’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," O'Donnell said.
Since 2014, the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs has consisted of a win-and-you're-in format where 16 drivers vie for the title in a 10-race format with eliminations and resets every three races until a four-driver, winner-take-all championship race. The format was controversial from its inception and underwent changes in 2017 to better reward drivers for their performance throughout the season.
However, the format came under major fire for the circumstances surrounding Joey Logano's 2024 NASCAR Cup Series championship. While the format stayed the same in 2025, NASCAR formed a committee to come up with a format.
The committee has reportedly floated several ideas, from a 5/5 format with one elimination to a 3/3/4 format with a four-race championship to no eliminations and a straight, 10-race championship.
Some committee members have been more vocal, including Mark Martin who has advocated for a full-season championship format. While the full-season format seemed like a longshot at the start of 2025, it gained enough traction throughout the season to where NASCAR President Steve O'Donnell acknowledged it as a possibility during an appearance on the "Dale Jr. Download."
O'Donnell also stated the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series would follow a similar format as the NASCAR Cup Series, as they have done since 2016.
The announcement and press conference will be live streamed on NASCAR.com, NASCAR's YouTube channel and the NASCAR Channel on Tubi.