With a breath of fresh air and a new format, NASCAR drivers are ready to race down Victory Lane and grab the championship trophy once again. However, many inside the garage believe the new Chase format could favor one driver who shares its very name with it: Chase Elliott.

NASCAR garage votes for Chase Elliott to win in 2026

NASCAR insider Bob Pockrass interviewed NASCAR drivers, with a few questions regarding their thoughts on the new playoff format. One of those questions was, “Who does the new playoff system help?”

“The first one that comes to my mind is Chase Elliott. When you look at his consistency and the amount of points that they score—Chase Elliott, William Byron, Denny Hamlin, and Joey Logano—those are the ones that stick out right off the top of my head,” said Kevin Harvick with no hesitation.

Further, Alex Bowman also added, “Chase Elliott, for sure. It’s a Chase Elliott type of system.” Chase Elliott stands out as the top beneficiary of NASCAR’s 2026 playoff format due to his unmatched consistency, which aligns perfectly with the system’s emphasis on sustained performance over the full season.

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Elliott scored more top 10s than Larson, led more laps than Byron, and finished more races than either of his teammates, Kyle Larson and William Byron, in 2024. Larson had six wins and Byron three in 2024. In 2025, Elliott had just two wins, but 11 top-5 and 19 top-10 finishes in the NASCAR Cup Series.

“I feel like Chase Elliott is the most consistent driver across the board, year in and year out. He finishes just about every race inside the top 15. So if it was going to help anybody, I think it would help him.” Elliott’s teammate Kyle Larson said. “It’s also going to reward wins, too. If he can get back to winning at a big clip, then I think for sure he would be a heavy favorite.”

“It’ll be the same five or six or seven guys that you see be contenders each year. Obviously, they’re going to have to put together a larger sample set of races to make it work. But your contenders aren’t going to change a lot.”

Chase Elliott’s past year’s stats definitely make him a potential championship winner in 2026 with the new format. Here’s what he himself had to say about it.

Chase Elliott breaks down NASCAR’s ‘compromise’ that saved the sport

Chase Elliott shared positive feedback about the changed format when it was announced in January. He highlighted how the format change saved NASCAR and its fan base.

“I think from my perspective, winning mattered in the previous format that we had as well. But you could also have good points days too. And I don’t think that it’s totally gone. I don’t think either side of the fence is gone.

“And to me, I think that’s kind of the whole point of this, right? You can go out there and have a great, a great stretch of top fives or top tens. And get stage points and do all those things. And you can still have good points days,” Elliott said.

Under the upcoming format, the top 10 drivers in terms of points will qualify for the Chase. In the end, NASCAR will reset the points and determine the champion based on the points gathered in the final 10 races of the season.

The new format rewards consistency over time, and according to Elliott, the most deserving drivers will naturally come to the top. And looking at his consistency, it definitely puts him at an advantage over many in the garage.