No Definitive Timeline For New NASCAR Championship Format Decision

While hot takes continue to fly on social media, NASCAR is going to take its time in deciding on its new championship format, which set to go live in 2026.

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The debate wages on through social media and throughout the industry about what format NASCAR should use to determine champions in 2026 and beyond, as it appears we have seen the final iteration of the one-race winner-take-all championship format after Corey Heim, Jesse Love, and Kyle Larson were crowned champions a couple of weeks ago in Phoenix Raceway.

The current format, which has been comprised of three three-race elimination rounds and a one-race championship battle between four championship contenders, has been around since the 2014 season.

However, while fans, media, drivers, team members, team owners, and essentially everyone who holds a stake in the sport have a thought about what the answer should be, the ultimate decision is in NASCAR's hands.

Related: Marks Says NASCAR's 'Game 7' Championship Format Has Lost Its Magic

While Steve O'Donnell explained that a decision on the championship format for the 2026 season would not come at Phoenix Raceway out of respect to the drivers battling for a championship, it appears that a couple of weeks removed, NASCAR isn't quite ready to make a determination on a championship format.

On this week's Hauler Talk podcast, Mike Forde, NASCAR's Managing Director, Racing Communications, spoke about where the decision on the next NASCAR National Series championship format stands. He feels there is no clear-cut answer on when a decision could come.

"I don't know where it is," Forde said of the status of the 2026 championship format. "It could be, honestly, it could be in two weeks, it could be in two months."

At the end of the day, NASCAR leadership understands how important the legitimacy of the championship format is, and they want to make sure they come to the correct long-term solution rather than a quick band-aid that makes some people happy for a year or two.

"We clearly want to make sure that we have been very thorough on this one," Forde explained. "Obviously, it'll be before what is it, February 5th, and The Clash. But it could be sooner than later; it could be in January. I don't know. I don't think anyone knows just yet. Still discussions to be had on where we are on this place in the discussion with the Playoff format. We feel good about the direction and the possibilities, here, because of the playoff committee and the work they've done, and the feedback that we've gotten from the industry."

Heading into the season, NASCAR comprised a playoff committee with numerous members of the NASCAR industry, from media members to current and former drivers, and folks from the television industry. Every sector of the industry had a voice, and after the deliberations from the committee, NASCAR now has a wealth of advice and thoughts to sift through as it makes a decision, possibly the most important decision in the sport's history.

"Where it stands right now, I don't believe the playoff committee is going to meet again. I think that we have gotten all of the feedback that we needed from them," Forde said. "Awesome job, by the way, from that playoff committee. We've talked about it several times, so, don't need to go super deep into that. Now, it's in NASCAR's hands. So, they're going to take all of the feedback they got from every walk of life, and every thought on the spectrum from no Playoffs whatsoever to keeping it how it is, and really beating all of that up."

As far as what is going through the mind of Steve O'Donnell, NASCAR's President, going into this decision, Forde pulled back the curtain on what he feels are the biggest areas of concern from the perspective of the leadership of the sport.

According to Forde, the main thing O'Donnell wants to avoid is losing potential future superstars simply because they don't feel the championship format is as legitimate as other series they could otherwise compete in.

"[Steve O'Donnell] is really good at looking into the future and I think one of the things that keeps him up at night is a Connor Zilisch type, whoever the 12-year-old wunderkind out there now, looks at the championship format at NASCAR and says, 'You know what, I don't like the fact that I can win 10 races like Connor did, and not win the championship. Let me look at F1, let me look at IndyCar, let me look at this other -- I have this driving talent that can translate into other forms of racing. I'm going to move to this because I feel like this championship format is a little more legitimate, and I'm not going to go to NASCAR.' That is his nightmare scenario," Forde stated. "I'm sure he has other things that keep him up at night, but that's something he always talks about."

Additionally, by eliminating the one-race championship race, NASCAR has a chance to once again build superstars in the sport, who can go on juggernaut dominant runs if the championship sample size is more than a single race.

"And then if you look at the current stars, same thing. If you look at a Christopher Bell, you know, young star on the rise, who is going to win championships, plural, probably here, and you look at what a Jimmie Johnson did, say, you're probably not going to see a Jimmie Johnson anymore if there is a one-race playoff," Forde said. "So, [O'Donnell] talked about that a little bit in the State of the Sport. You know, a one-race Playoff certainly brings excitement, but there's concern there of making sure it's legitimate, too. That's everything that they're looking at."

It'll be interesting to see where O'Donnell and NASCAR's leadership decides to go with the championship format heading into the 2026 season. The biggest rumors of where things could be heading have included a wide-range of options. From a modified form of the current Playoff format, which would utilize a four-race championship series round, to the classic 10-race chase, or the old-school full-season format, it seems that everything is truly on the table.

And that is a breath of fresh air after the fanbase grew tired of the Playoff format that had been in place since 2014.

To listen to the episode of Hauler Talk in it's entirety, here is an audio player: