The 2026 NASCAR Championship Format Will Be Announced Monday, January 12
NASCAR will be revealing its championship format on January 12 during a press conference, the series announced today.
NASCAR has offered no further details about what to expect, but referring to it as the “championship format” instead of “playoffs” or even “postseason” suggests a big change is on the way, even if it didn’t technically say it’s “new.”
While a return to the full season points championship used prior to 2004 is a long shot, there have been indications that NASCAR could resurrect the Chase for the Championship-type format, where the final 10 races serve as a mini season over which a small number of top drivers vie for the title.
A new multi-round knockout format has also been bandied about, which would work like the most recent playoffs, but replace the single-race championship finale with a three-race or four-race final round mini chase.
Kaulig Racing CEO Chris Rice was on Kenny Wallace’s podcast in December and told him that “I know a lot more than you think,” about the new championship, suggesting that NASCAR has already informed the teams.
“You’re gonna like it,” he said, adding that “it’s not exactly what everybody’s posting about.”
“I feel like 75% of the people are going to love it, 10% are going to be, ‘aaaah, OK,’ right? And that’s gonna leave 15% of the people that’s gonna hate it.”
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NASCAR officials have previously said that any changes would apply to all three championship series, although each season is a different length, so a postseason formats might vary to some extent.
The press conference is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET and will be streamed live on NASCAR.com, NASCAR’s YouTube channel and NASCAR TV.