Back in 2004, NASCAR decided to shake things up. To give the season a bigger punch at the end, they rolled out the “Chase” – a playoff-style format where, after 26 races, the points got reset and the championship came down to a 10-race showdown. Fans got hooked, but drivers weren’t always sold.

Fast forward to 2014, and NASCAR doubled down, revamping the system into the elimination-style playoffs we see today: 16 drivers, 10 races, three cutoffs, and one final winner-take-all showdown. It’s dramatic, sure, but also polarizing. And now? NASCAR is actually considering ripping it all up and starting fresh. Drivers are weighing in, and Christopher Bell in particular isn’t holding back about what it really takes to crown a legitimate champion.

Christopher Bell urges NASCAR to rethink its championship format

While speaking with reporters about potential changes to NASCAR’s playoff system, Christopher Bell shared, “I think there’s only one true legitimate champion crowning format, and that’s to count every race. And I think that’s how you get a legitimate champion.” Bell’s view echoes the traditional Formula 1 model and most other global motorsports, where the title is determined by points earned over every event in the season. This approach rewards consistency and overall performance, highlighting who excelled throughout the year, not just in select moments.

“I’m hopeful that there is a compromise on what we have now,” he added further. Bell’s comments come as NASCAR’s playoff format committee recently wrapped up meetings on September 25, considering significant changes for 2026. After years of criticism, especially following Joey Logano’s 2024 championship win despite inconsistent finishes, there’s rising momentum within NASCAR’s stakeholders for moving away from the current one-race, winner-take-all finale.

Insiders report that support for returning to a full-season points system is growing, though committee members remain divided. NASCAR officials are expected to announce the direction for 2026 after this year’s finale in Phoenix, balancing driver preferences, commercial interests, and fan reactions.

Yet Christopher Bell remains realistic about the resistance to drastic reform, saying, “I don’t think that we’re gonna get there, so I’ll take whatever they give us. Anything more than one is better.” His sentiment captures the mood among many drivers: some improvement, such as expanding the championship’s deciding races or adjusting eliminations, is welcome. Even if a full rollback to a 36-race tally may be unlikely in the near future.

For now, fans and teams await news on the next era of NASCAR championship racing. While this has been one talking point among the drivers, there was another topic that drew attention at New Hampshire.

Christopher Bell weighs in on Hamlin-Gibbs clash

The tension at New Hampshire Motor Speedway still hasn’t completely cooled down. It all started when Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Denny Hamlin and Ty Gibbs got tangled up just past halfway in the Cup Series race. Battling hard for 11th place, Gibbs wasn’t making life easy for Hamlin or Christopher Bell.

Eventually, Hamlin nudged him, and the rookie’s day ended in the wall. Hamlin later admitted he “got too hot under the collar” and owned up to pushing things too far. JGR owner Joe Gibbs quickly stepped in, calling a drivers’ meeting to get everyone back on the same page.

Bell, who was almost caught up in the chaos himself, said the conversations were useful, though he wasn’t about to spill details, similar to Denny Hamlin’s approach regarding the meeting. “I thought it was productive and hopefully we can do better moving forward,” Bell told reporters in Kansas. Pressed on whether everyone felt the same way, he kept it short: “Yeah, I think so.”

Still, Bell didn’t mince words about the incident itself. “I definitely think it is fair to say that a line was crossed. That was bad. We don’t need to have teammates get crashed,” he said. For him, the focus now is on racing each other smarter heading into the playoffs.

Bell admitted the whole thing nearly turned into his own disaster. “I don’t know because I couldn’t see it,” he said about how close he came to being collected. “I had a hunch Ty was gonna get the bumper… so I kind of rolled out of it easy. If he would have ricocheted off the wall, I would have been caught up in it.” In the end, Bell dodged the mess, but the message was clear: JGR can’t afford teammates taking each other out. Not with playoff stakes this high.