NASCAR is thinking about making some changes to its playoffs, but not this year.
The series confirmed on Monday that the format that has been in place since 2017 will remain the same in 2025. Drivers automatically qualify for the playoffs with a win, if there are 16 or fewer winners, and advance through the rounds of 12 and 8 to the Championship 4 the same way. Extra playoffs points are awarded for stage wins, race wins and finishing in the top 10 during the regular season.
“I don’t think we want to get in the habit of making small little tweaks every season to the playoffs,” NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing development officer John Probst said during a pre-season media briefing. “Where we landed was for 2025 not making any changes to the playoffs.”
Joey Logano’s championship caused a ruckus among critics of the current playoffs format. He was the first driver to finish 15th in the regular season standings who made it all the way to the championship race, which he won outright, but only did so after transferring to the Round of 8 when Alex Bowman’s car was disqualified after the cutoff race at the Charlotte Roval.
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“We just didn’t get to a point where we felt like we have to do it,” Probst said. “But we hear the fans loud and clear and are looking at it actively.”
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Probst said that NASCAR will create a working group with representatives from the manufacturers, drivers, tire supplier Goodyear and media to discuss possible updates to the format for 2026.