NASCAR has finally rolled out its revised Chase format, and even Dale Earnhardt Jr. might be nodding in approval. But with its benefits come new challenges. While the updated system rewards consistency instead of the widely criticized winner-takes-all approach, the 51-year-old veteran is now highlighting how much a rough start to the season can set drivers back.

Speaking on his Dale Jr. Download podcast, the Hall of Famer didn’t hold back.

“How you perform at Daytona, how you perform at Atlanta, how your season begins is going to really sort of give you an idea of whether you’re championship worthy,” he said. “Because with the old system and this system that we’re bringing back, if you start off in a hole four weeks in a row… You get yourself in a hole.”

And the hole that Junior refers to is definitely a tough one to climb out of. Last year, there were no issues with the win-and-you’re-in approach, as a victory at any track would guarantee a spot in the playoffs.

But this time around, a lot is at stake. By bringing back the Chase, a 10-race postseason format that emphasizes consistent performance over the entire season rather than a single dramatic finale, drivers are expected to deliver their best in most races.

Under the revised system, the top 16 drivers in the point standings after the 26-race regular season will qualify for the Chase, with no eliminations along the way.

All entries are based strictly on points earned across the regular season, and race victories now earn 55 points instead of the previous 40, reinforcing the value of going for the win while still requiring drivers to run consistently well week after week.

And that structure directly ties into what Junior has been talking about.

“I know all of the people who are working on this, and they’ve told me that while no format is foolproof against a fluke, this one is going to be tougher. If you’re outside the top five at the start of the Chase, you’re going to have to be remarkable to make it work,” Junior added.

When the regular season wraps up, the points reset gives the top drivers a clear head start. The leader enters the Chase with 2,100 points, the second-place driver starts with 2,075, and the 16th-place driver begins with 2,000 points.

Smaller point gaps between the drivers will make it interesting, but they will also put real pressure on drivers to perform well from the get-go.

A poor start can be a massive handicap. In the old playoff systems, particularly the elimination era, a driver could overcome early struggles by winning at key moments or surviving rounds. Under the new Chase format, however, there is no room for a bad streak.

Falling behind early in the season makes it much harder to climb back into title contention because every race counts toward the cumulative points total that ultimately decides the championship.

This places additional pressure on drivers from the first race onward. But while Junior has some unease about the Chase format, the veteran is finally happy, and here’s why.

Dale Jr., who’s still a bit cautious about the revised format, recently revealed that he was falling out of love with NASCAR’s old playoff system.

Dale Jr. reflects on the old playoff format with disappointment

Dale Earnhardt Jr. didn’t hold back while reflecting on NASCAR’s old championship format, which followed a more traditional playoff structure.

He admitted that the old system dulled some of the excitement he once felt for the sport.

“When we had the full season points, you couldn’t take a week off as a fan because that race might be the race where your guy breaks a motor and gives up 180 points,” he said. “We had lost that. I had lost that. I was not being drawn to the sport every weekend. I did not want to devour it.”

Under the old system, the top 16 drivers advanced to the playoffs, with the bottom four eliminated after each of the first three races. Drivers earned their spot either by winning a race in the regular season or finishing in the top 16 in points.

This created less excitement around the races, as the outcomes often felt more predictable.

Luck also played a major role, as clutch wins or point swings helped drivers advance into the next rounds, making it easier to guess who would move on and taking away from the joy of watching.

However, with the new format, a regular-season win no longer guarantees a postseason berth. This will likely reshape how teams approach each race, emphasizing consistent performance over one-off victories.