After several months of lobbying for change, 2026 is here with a revamped plan. NASCAR is finally scrapping the highly criticized elimination playoff format that it adopted in 2014. Waves of positivity are rocking the sport at present, with new elements like a lack of the win-and-you’re-in format or the emphasis on points. Chase Briscoe, however, is more excited about finally living his childhood dream.

Chase Briscoe divulges his thrill

“This is the format that I kind of grew up on. You know, it’s a little bit different now. Still, I grew up watching the Chase, and just remembered, obviously, Jimmie’s run. The coolest was probably Tony and the car in 2011; it was just one of those unbelievable battles,” Chase Briscoe said in a NASCAR Live episode. “So, yeah, I’m excited. I’ve never raced in another format in my career other than the playoffs. So looking forward to trying this one.”

Chase Briscoe previously raced for Stewart-Haas Racing and was under Tony Stewart‘s guidance. So it is no surprise that the three-time Cup Series champion is also one of Briscoe’s idols. Stewart, who retired in 2016, drove his best races under the previous Chase format (2004-2014). Stewart clinched his Cup Series titles in 2005, 2008, and 2011, with a nail-biting fight with Jimmie Johnson in the last, as Briscoe mentioned.

Currently driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, Chase Briscoe is on a path to excellence. Even under the playoff format, Briscoe was undeterred from his goal. Wheeling the No. 19 Toyota, he clinched three trophies, 15 top fives, and 19 top tens. What’s more, he persisted into the Championship 4 race, finishing a jaw-dropping third place in points. In 2026, he would have more opportunities to prove his mettle.

“I like the fact it’s not win-and-you’re-in because now it really takes the season as a whole. You have to be good every single week, and that’s what James (Small, his crew chief) and I were talking about this morning. Now, DNFs are extremely significant, even in the regular season, because the playoff seeding for the Chase, you really need to be in the top five or six to put yourself in a really good position,” Chase Briscoe continued.

The Toyota driver is also pumped about another thing – the scaled-down risks for wrecks.

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No need to crash into each other now

While the elimination playoffs created immense excitement, they also left drivers perpetually tensed. Between 2014 and 2025, several questionable incidents have unfolded on the track. In a 2015 Talladega race, Kevin Harvick wrecked a large portion of the field on a green-white-checkered restart. Then, Cole Custer was penalized for race manipulation in 2022. In the 2024 Cup Series race in Richmond, Austin Dillon spun out Joey Logano and right-hooked Denny Hamlin for the win.

All such aggressive and risky incidents will inevitably scale down, as NASCAR has reverted to a 10-race Chase for the championship. After 26 races, the top 16 drivers in the point standings will be reseeded.

“It made a lot of us do a lot of stupid things at times,” said Chase Briscoe about the elimination format. “As a driver, it puts you sometimes in a really miserable spot. It made you do things that you did not want to do or knew were probably not acceptable in any circumstance. I’ve always been really big on trying to be an example for the kids coming up that are racing, and that format did not do you any favors in trying to show how you should race.”

Clearly, Chase Briscoe is enjoying the winds of change. Let’s see how far he can steer them under control in his Cup Series season.