The playoffs are no more. The Chase is back.
NASCAR announced, Monday, that the championship format for the Cup Series will revert to its original iteration, circa 2004. Rather than win and in, eliminations and a one race winner take all format, the champion will be decided based on who accumulates the most points over the span of the final 10 races. For the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, it will be the final nine races and the final seven for the Craftsman Truck Series.
Furthermore, NASCAR will award 55 points for a race win (up from 40), as a way to still reward winning more than a strong points day.
In addition, the regular season points leader will start the Chase with a 25-point lead over the driver second in points. The leader starts with 2100 points. Second gets 2075. Third gets 2065 and it drops in five-point increments from third to 16th, which starts with 2000.
“As NASCAR transitions to a revised championship model, the focus is on rewarding driver and team performance each and every race,” NASCAR president, Steve O’Donnell, said. “At the same time, we want to honor NASCAR’s storied history and the traditions that have made the sport so special. Our fans are at the heart of everything we do, and this format is designed to honor their passion every single race weekend.”
This format follows months of review from both the Playoff Committee and fan-feedback that focused on three key areas: A larger sample size for a championship, bolster the importance of each race and rewarding consistency while maintaining the importance of winning.
NASCAR began looking into changes for deciding the champion in 2025 and the calls for its change grew louder after the championship weekend at Phoenix Raceway in November.
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